Hannover-based Continental AG is a leading automotive supplier and – according to the company – is “the choice of leading car manufacturers, offering award-winning tyres that deliver responsive braking in all weather conditions.”
As of 1 September 2011, Ellerbrock Reifenrunderneuerungs-Technologie GmhH, which was acquired by the Marangoni Group in the early 1990s, officially began trading under the name Marangoni Retreading Systems Deutschland GmbH.
Responding to Schaeffler Group’s recently published second quarter results, including a margin of 15.3 per cent for the quarter, financial analysts have praised the “very respectable results”. However, writing in an investor’s not dated 2 September, Morgan Stanley also noted risked associated with the company’s outlook and pointed out that margins were down 150 basis points year-on-year and 220 basis points quarter-on-quarter due to “higher raw material costs and ongoing expansion costs.”
Former Kwik-Fit Fleet boss Mike Wise has joined the largest online retailer in Europe, Delticom AG, to head up a new online fleet tyre business. Wise had a long and distinguished career in the tyre business and during his time as managing director of Kwik-Fit Fleet build up a commanding market share for the company in this sector.
The Schaeffler Group says its first six months in 2011 have “set new records in sales and operating results”. The company has grown its net income to 641 million euros in the period, with EBIT rising 20 per cent to 883 million euros and margin at 16.4 per cent. The company expects sales to increase by “at least 10 per cent” and has an EBIT margin target of “more than 13 per cent” for the year. Schaeffler’s sales in the first six months rose by 18 per cent to approximately 5.4 billion euros.
The British government is attending the Frankfurt Motor Show with the intention of targeting automotive suppliers such as Bosch, Continental and Schaeffler for discussions on potential investment in UK manufacturing. According to a report published by The Telegraph on 29 August, the government has “drawn up a list of foreign manufacturers that it wants to attract to the UK in order to boost output and help rebalance the economy.” The article continues by explaining that Mark Prisk, minister for manufacturing, will attend the Frankfurt Motor Show (also known as IAA Car) later this month.
As you might expect, the majority of the forthcoming September issue's winter tyre feature focuses on products designed for use on passenger cars, but what are the latest developments on the commercial vehicle side of things?
Preparations for the last two winters by many businesses and local authorities have been identified as inadequate for the severity of the weather in both seasons. Though current temperatures around the UK could easily lead to complacency, the likelihood of a third successive cold winter has led to Universal Tyres and Spares business development manager Clare Moss asking a question common to most tyre distributors around the country: what is the correct number of winter tyres to stock this year? Moss explains that Universal has upped its stockholding of winter rubber threefold, ordering 3,000 tyres across mid-range and budget segment brands.
Following Continental’s recent acquisition of India’s Modi Tyres Company Limited, the German company has announced plans to expand its Indian market operations. Initial plans involve increasing Continental India Limited’s cross-ply truck and bus tyre production at its Modipuram factory to over 500,000 units per annum this year and further boosting output to more than a million units in 2013. On top of this, more than 50 million euros will be invested to equip the company for passenger car and commercial vehicle radial manufacture; Continental anticipates starting production of these tyres in the second half of 2013.
Continental Tyres has appointed City 1st Tyres in Slough, Berks as an accredited Conti360° Partner outlet. City 1st, which specialise in new truck and trailer tyres as well as retreads, joins Continental's existing pan-European network of outlets that services the tyre manufacturer's fleet customers.
Continental has introduced a world first product it says can lead to commercial vehicle weight savings of up to 12 kilograms per axle. Produced by the company’s ContiTech Air Spring Systems business unit, the air spring contains a plastic piston that saves up to 75 per cent of the weight of conventional steel pistons. Another breakthrough feature is that the air spring has an interior volume that can be used entirely for enhancing comfort. This new product has debuted on the Mercedes-Benz Actros, a vehicle that Continental says utilises a completely revised drive and chassis concept in which the ContiTech air springs with plastic pistons play a “decisive” role.
Continental Tire the Americas has introduced what it calls its “most innovative SUV, crossover and light truck tyre to date,” the CrossContact LX20. Priorities when developing this all-season tyre were fuel economy and tread wear improvements along with competition-beating wet braking. In respect to this last-mentioned quality, Continental says that in an independent wet braking test the CrossContact LX20 in size 265/70R17 stopped 34 feet shorter than its leading competitor, Pirelli’s Scorpion STR A P265/70R17 113H.
Tanzanian newspaper The Guardian reports its country’s government plans to hand over General Tyre East Africa to Tanzania’s National Development Corporation (NDC) in response to what it calls the “hard conditions” imposed by shareholder Continental AG. The country’s Industry and Trade Minister, Dr. Cyril Chami, is reported as saying talks with Continental, who holds a 24 per cent share in General Tyre East Africa, failed to reach a suitable conclusion. He attributes this lack of success to conditions Continental wishes to impose, such as restricting General Tyre’s activities to its domestic market and just two export destinations – Uganda and Burundi – and that the Tanzanian tyre maker should pay back its outstanding US$3.321 debt to Conti. Continental’s alleged lack of investment plans for General Tyre is another given factor.
Continental has just published its new 2011 motorcycle and scooter tyre technical manual. According to the UK distributor of these products, the manual contains a wealth of information about each of the tyres in the range and a very comprehensive fitment and pressure guide, the manual has the key information that dealers need.
Designed specifically for use on trailers, the new Agriterra flotation tyre from Mitas delivers significantly better on- and off-road performance than any other premium trailer tyre, combined with greater reliability, reduced downtime, a 15 per cent longer working life and a significant improvement in overall operating economy, according to CGS Tyres, which has just launched it in the UK.
Continental has announced its latest two original equipment contracts with Mercedes-Benz. The German tyre maker will supply tyres for the CLS saloon and high-end versions of the Mercedes Viano and Vito vans.
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