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.”
This year’s Innovation Award, which is decided upon by a jury of industry experts as opposed to the popular vote held for all other categories, this year saw eight entrants come from a complete cross section of the tyre industry with companies from the manufacturer/supplier (Continental, GITI and Michelin), garage equipment (Pro-Align), retail (HiQ) workshop consumables (Apaseal) and tyre recovery (Vellco Tyre Control) sectors all represented.
Nominations for this year’s Tyre Manufacturer of the Year Award were fairly evenly split between 2009 nominees vying for success this time round (Bridgestone, Continental and Michelin) and relative newcomers in this category Hankook and Vredestein. With some characterising this as a David and Goliath fight, in a twist that betrays the original story the UK part of the current world number one – Bridgestone – won out. Last year’s winners Continental were left to congratulate Bridgestone on its success, but with one of the two awards the German-based company won in 2009 now out of contention, would the company go home empty-handed?
Doncaster-based McGregor Logistics, a member of the Pall-Ex network, has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply, fit and service the tyres across its busy fleet of 18 tractor units, 36 curtain side trailers and 6 temperature controlled fridge units. The deal replaces a previous arrangement with a local independent tyre dealer.
MAM Software has embarked on a new push to promote paperless invoices, credits and statements, reminding its customers that they can "go green" by signing up to receive paperless accounts correspondence. Customers have the option of cutting paperwork by receiving electronic versions of invoices, credit notes and statements directly into their e-mail inbox. The documents, which are sent in Acrobat PDF format as e-mail attachments, are formatted just like their printed counterparts and can be easily read on screen.
Continental AG chief executive Elmar Degenhart has shared details of how the automotive supplier is planning to invest 500 million euros into its tyre business in an interview Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper. According to the report, Degenhart admitted that Continental should have invested more in its tyre division during the past five years.
Volvo Car UK has announced the launch of its new Winter Tyre Programme, which offers drivers the opportunity to purchase a set of alloy wheels and Continental or Pirelli winter tyres. For a twice yearly charge, Volvo is also offering storage of the off-season tyres and fitment when it is time for the changeover. Volvo says the scheme is “a response to last January’s heavy snowfall, which saw the coldest temperatures since 1963 and icy conditions that caused misery for millions of motorists”.
Kwik-Fit has joined tyrepress.com in noting the sudden dive in temperatures experienced across the UK yesterday. The fast-fit chain says drivers should “learn from last winter”, after a new survey conducted on 2,013 people by ICM Research for Kwik-Fit suggests that over 70 per cent of drivers were affected by the weather last winter, with one in three skidding on Britain’s roads. 15 per cent were involved in, or witnessed an accident and 12 per cent only narrowly avoided a collision. Four out of ten drivers had to put off a trip last winter due to the conditions, and one in six had to abandon their journey, according to the survey.
Continental has won evo magazine’s tyre test for the second time this year. The brand came top of the test on the front wheel drive Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup. The high performance car magazine tested nine of the most popular brands on the market including Continental’s new ContiSportContact 5 P in the popular 235/35 R19 size.
Referring to the Continental tyre’s performance the magazine said: “It set the standard in many of the tests, taking an almost clean sweep in the dry tests and rating very highly in the wet tests, too. It also garnered praise for its feel and abilities in the subjective tests.”
Managers at Northern Accident Repair Centre in Halifax shared a luxury car and VIP motorsport package at Silverstone after winning the top prize in Grouptyre’s ‘Feel the Passion’ national promotion, organised in conjunction with premier tyre manufacturer and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) sponsor Dunlop.
Vehicles, like people, sometimes find it hard to get a grip – but at least our wheeled counterparts have Continental helping them out. The German automotive supplier has entered into partnerships with other firms to develop a new approach to sensor fusion, and Conti says the new system it has come up with can give drivers advance warning about low grip. The system was within the “Friction” project as part of the 6th Framework Programme, co-funded by the European Commission.
Continental reports the approval of its ContiCrossContact Winter as original equipment on the Land Rover Freelander and Range Rover Sport. The cold weather tyre has been approved in size 235/55R19 105H for the Land Rover Freelander and 275/40R20 106V for the Range Rover Sport.
The Tyre and Fast Fit Awards are now a well-established feature of the UK tyre industry calendar, with winners announced during the NTDA’s Annual Dinner in the grand environs of Manchester’s Beetham Tower. Bridgestone UK was awarded Tyre Manufacturer of the Year, while Stapleton’s was the winner of the coveted Tyre Wholesaler of the Year gong. Other awards presented during the evening were the Tyre & Aftermarket Equipment Supplier of the Year, which went to Apaseal; the Environment Award, going to Envirotyre; the Innovation Award, given to Michelin’s X One MaxiTrailer Tyre; and the Industry Advertising Campaign, awarded in conjunction with Tyres & Accessories as TAFF media partner to Continental for its Don’t Miss the Big Game campaign, based on the company’s World Cup football sponsorship.
In the US, General Tire has announced its title sponsorship of the 2011 General Tire Jeepspeed Challenge, a desert race series designed to give Jeep enthusiasts the opportunity to race their daily vehicle alongside other die-hard Jeep fans. The title sponsorship runs for a three-year period and the deal also involves the adoption of products from the Continental Tire the Americas brand as spec tyres. The 2011 Jeepspeed season begins in February 2011 and runs until December, during which time five challenge/cup events and two bonus events will be run.
Continental AG notes the price of natural rubber has reached “well over” US$3 per kilogram, a level it calls a historic high for the commodity. In order to compensate for this, the company plans to increase prices for its replacement market summer tyres throughout Europe by an average of five per cent. The price increase will apply to all Continental passenger car tyre brands within the region.
Rolf Koerfer, the top legal advisor to Schaeffler and the Schaeffler family, has agreed to step down from his post on the Continental AG advisory board.
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