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.”
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.
Devon-based hazardous liquid waste management specialist the Bale Group has selected Bandvulc’s product range for its tyre policy. On the basis of in-house drive and trailer axle position trials carried out by Bale, the company chose the Bandvulc produce as the most cost effective option for its operation; Bandvulc’s BD08 drive axle and B2K trailer tyres have been selected as the preferred policy fitment, supported by Continental HSR2 tyres on all steer and lift axles.
Chinese tyre manufacturer Techking is expanding its emphasis on European markets with the appointment of local staff to manage and develop continental markets including the UK. Speaking at Brityrex 2010, new European sales and marketing director Vincent Van Houtte told Tyres & Accessories that the company is serious about investing in Europe. Van Houtte joined Techking during the last quarter following years of experience at Bridgestone Europe and Solideal including passenger car, two-wheel and OTR tyre related roles. He joins a year after the firm appointed Samuel Hermanssen as vice-president Europe. Hermansson, who is Swedish, brings with him 20 years of experience of work at premium tyre manufacturers such as Continental.
An agreement has been reached between South African trade union Solidarity and the local Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop and Goodyear operations. The union, which represents around 1,000 tyre industry workers in the bargaining council for the New Tyre Manufacturing Industry Association, released a statement on October 1 reporting the deal, which is being implemented retrospectively from July 1, 2010.
Strike action at Apollo, Continental and Goodyear’s factories in South Africa has ended and workers are scheduled to resume work on September 30. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa says the month-long strike, which arose following stalled negotiations with New Tyre Manufacturing Industry Employers' Association, has been resolved following the decision to revise pay structures for tyre industry workers.
It’s a done deal – earlier this morning tyrepress.com reported Continental’s intention of placing a third euro-denominated bond. The German company has now reported the successful placement of this third bond, as issue with an aggregate principal amount of 1.25 billion euros. The issue consists of two tranches of 625 million euros each, which respectively mature in 2016 and 2018. As per the company’s previous statement, the bonds will be issued by Conti-Gummi Finance B.V. and guaranteed by Continental AG and certain of its subsidiaries. The coupon is 6.5 per cent per year for the tranche maturing in 2016 and 7.125 per cent per year for the tranche maturing in 2018. Interest will be payable semi-annually in arrears.
After a positive response to its two previously placed bonds, Continental AG has announced plans to issue further Eurobonds with benchmark volume. The company has again mandated a bank consortium led by Citi and The Royal Bank of Scotland to place two tranches of euro-denominated bonds with qualified German and international investors. A maximum issue volume of 1.25 billion euros and two tranches with maturities in 2016 and 2018 are planned. Upon announcing the upcoming bonds on September 27, Continental said the issue volume and the conditions are expected to be finalized in the “next few days”.
Continental’s E-invoicing system not only won the innovation awards at this year’s Reifen Essen 2010 in June, but was also nominated for one of the NTDA’s Tyre and Fast Fit (TAFF) awards here in the UK. So what’s all the fuss about? Continental’s new electronic invoicing system, which provides improved recording and exchange of invoicing and credit notes between Continental and customers, is designed to make business life easier, but it also shows the company’s environmental credentials.
For some time Continental has been working to reduce complexity and wastage in its back office solutions to make life simpler for customers and reduce the effect on the environment. The introduction in 2010 of a new electronic invoicing system that provides improved recording and exchange of invoices and credit notes between Continental and tyre retail customers is said to have achieved this. And savings on paper and transport both have positive effects on both economy and protecting the environment.
Continental Tyres is showing its support for October’s Tyre Safety month in October with a call for UK motorists to be aware of the safety benefits winter tyres offer. Traditionally the British climate has been viewed as too temperate to warrant winter tyres, yet last year’s ‘big freeze’ saw many drivers unprepared and left stranded or involved in accidents that might have been avoided had winter tyres been fitted.
Van drivers looking for a tyre designed with rolling resistance in mind have a new option open to them in the form of Continental’s VancoEco range. The manufacturer states the new tyre has been specifically developed for van such as the Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit and Volkswagen T5 and claims the VancoEco reduces rolling resistance by around 30 per cent – which equals a four per cent fuel saving. At the same time, adds Continental, the engineers have managed to keep the braking distance on dry and wet roads short, giving the VancoEco performance “like a car tyre.” The VanEco range is already available and has already been approved as original equipment on the new ‘BlueEfficiency’ models in Mercedes-Benz Viano and Vito line-ups.
Following the recent tyre tests in Auto Express, Maxxis noted what the company brands a “grossly unfair” reaction in “some newspapers”, which suggested that budget tyres pose a threat to the lives of drivers and their passengers. Maxxis International’s managing director Derek McMartin released a statement to address the “sensationalist language” used to brand budget tyres “bottom of safety league”, pointing out that secondary reports had missed the complexity of Auto Express’s comprehensive testing and that the company’s MA-Z1 Drift had performed creditably in most areas despite being a road-legal speciality drifting tyre. The tyre was given a rating of 94.8 per cent of the winning Continental SportContact 3’s overall performance in the 2010 Auto Express Tyre Test.
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