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.”
etyres, the online tyre retailer, says it has been inundated with call-outs from vehicle owners who have had their tyres and wheels damaged in the latest pothole epidemic. And following weeks of severe winter weather, the state of British roads is continuing to deteriorate at a rapid rate forcing drivers to navigate their way round cracks and gaping holes.
With more than 70 per cent of CGS Tyres’ revenues coming from its agricultural tyre range – comprising Mitas, Cultor and Continental under licence – the Czech tyre division of CGS Holding Group (Czech Rubber Company) boasts an extensive international sales and distribution network operating in 13 countries, including the United States and Mexico. The manufacturer has an annual turnover of more than $430 million cementing a place among the top three European producers of agricultural and construction equipment tyres. With its current operations based in Europe, 90 per cent of CGS Tyres’ sales are on the European market. The company’s development strategy states that the company will focus on increasing its global presence, which has begun with the establishment of a US base in Iowa.
As was the case for the ContiEcoContact 5 (see yesterday’s article on tyrepress.com), reducing rolling resistance was also a goal for the ContiSportContact 5 development team. The new range, scheduled for release in spring, will eventually replace two products – the SportContact 3 and the CrossContact UHP. Accordingly, this means the new range will cover both passenger car and 4×4 sizes.
Sport sponsorship is gaining popularity, and the tyre industry is no exception to this rule. While tyre manufacturers used to snatch up motorsport deals and then report the transference of know how and technology gleaned from racetrack experience to their on-road products, these days sponsorship of other sporting codes, such as football, basketball or golf, are increasingly playing a part in manufacturers’ marketing strategies. Now Kumho Europe also intends to follow this path. While the Korean tyre maker is currently still considering if and under which conditions its partnership with Manchester United should be extended, some Kumho people are not convinced of the deal’s benefit within Continental Europe and for this reason the company plans to begin a similar arrangement as premium partner to a team in Germany’s national football league, the Bundesliga. Speaking with Tyres & Accessories, Kumho Germany marketing manager Wolf Fuder said that negotiations to this effect are currently ongoing and therefore the company is not yet in a position to name which team it would enter such a deal with. Kumho would not, however, act as jersey sponsor.
Signs of a rebound in the automotive industry following the recession can be seen in the latest annual results released by Continental AG. The tyre and vehicle components manufacturer reports sales in excess of 25 billion euros. “On the wings of better than expected business in the last three months of the year, we realised sales of over 25.5 billion euros in 2010,” stated Continental Executive Board chairman Elmar Degenhart at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Furthermore, despite an additional 480 million euro year-on-year cost to the company’s Rubber Group due to record high raw material costs, Degenhart said Conti’s adjusted EBIT margin will work out to be around 9.5 per cent for 2010.
In designing its latest eco tyre range, Continental AG was influenced to a large extent by the changing requirements of its OEM customers. As Alexander Lührs, head of Continental’s press and public relations for passenger and light truck tyres, explained at the recent ContiTechnikForum held in Portugal, “the requirements for tyre development are in a very dynamic state.” This especially applies to rolling resistance optimised products. “Car manufacturers need to reduce CO2 emissions. This means they ask us and our competition to come up with new solutions in this regard.”
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Media reports published on January 6 indicate that Continental AG intends to invest up to 220 million euros in Romania to build up capacity in its Timisoara plant over the next two years. Enquiries made by Tyres & Accessories to the German manufacturer’s head office, however, reveal that an inaccurate news report was released through a newspaper in Romania. The company has regularly invested its Timisoara plant since 2004, however Continental media contact Klaus Engelhardt states an investment of this size is not planned.
TMD Friction Group has announced plans for the acquisition of bt Bremsen Technik. TMD Friction has been a minority shareholder of bt Bremsen since 2001. On 16 December Derek Whitworth, president and CEO of TMD Friction Group, Luxembourg, and Dieter Goldbach, managing director, bt bremsen Technik GmbH, Rosbach (Hessen, Germany) jointly announced TMD Friction’s acquisition of the remaining 51 per cent of bt Bremsen. The transaction also includes the business of bt Brake Technology of America, registered in Florida.
Continental AG’s automotive components plant in Huntsville, Alabama is preparing to close its doors for the last time. Production ended on November 11 and now only some 250 employees remain at the plant – this is expected to drop to around 100 in January. Continental has already announced Huntsville’s lost production will be absorbed by other plants in the US and Mexico.
According to Jay Kunkel, president of Continental’s Asia region, the German tyre and automotive component supplier intends to have sales within Asia account for 25 per cent of the company’s global total by 2013. Growth in the key market of China and throughout the region is already occurring and in response the company has established a new facility for the production of electronic brake and powertrain systems and interior electronics products.
Car maker Volvo reports sales of more than a thousand winter tyres since its Winter Tyre Programme was launched in the UK in October. “Interest in the Volvo winter tyres has far exceeded our expectations, with Scotland, the North of England and London seeing the greatest number of inquires and sales,” stated Lee Berrell, Aftersales manager for Volvo Car UK. “While some are struggling with supply, we pre-ordered a large number of tyres to ensure all Volvo customers can be catered for, even into the New Year."
Tyre fanatics now have a winning justification for purchasing an iPhone – Continental has announced that the first tyre race game for the darling of the smartphone world is now available for free downloading from the iTunes Store. Called the ContiTireRace, the aim of the game is to take the racetrack with ContiWinterContact TS 830 as quickly as possible, along the way collecting points that give the rolling tyres additional speed and thus better lap times. The app is available in English and German.
The seat on Continental AG’s Supervisory Board left vacant by Rolf Koerfer’s resignation on November 29 is to be filled by Professor Siegfried Wolf. The 53-year old Austrian, who is also chairman of the Board of Directors at Russian Machines OJSC, was nominated to the Conti board on December 4; Wolf’s nomination received the Board’s unanimous support and his appointment will be applied for at the local court in Continental’s home town of Hannover, Germany early this week.
The adaptor developed by German firm KTS Kunststoff Technik Schmölln for Continental’s CSEasy industrial tyre has received an innovation award from TecPart, the German technical plastics manufacturers’ association. In reporting the KTS product’s attainment of a TecPart Innovation Prize 2010, Continental comments that the CSEasy adaptor not only enables wheel changes without the need for mounting presses or specialist involvement, thereby greatly reducing forklift downtime and the expense involved in changing the wheel – it also lowers the tyre’s rolling resistance, gives longer mileage, and improves safety and environmental compatibility.
As a means of thanks for their contribution to the company’s recovery from the recession, Continental AG’s 146,000 employees worldwide will receive a one-off payment. Executive Board member responsible for human resources, Heinz-Gerhard Wente, announced that a total of 45 million euros has been set aside for this purpose. “After the serious economic and financial crises last year, our employees throughout the world demonstrated their commitment, working hard to contribute substantially to Continental’s speedier-than-expected recovery,” he said. “In recognition of this commitment, the Executive Board decided on the one-off payment for the spring of 2011, even though the company is still facing several major challenges.” Exactly how much an employee will receive depends on where he or she lives, however. While Continental’s 45,000 workers in Germany will receive 400 euros, those employed in lands with ‘lower living costs’ will receive only 200 euros.
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