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.”
German communications agency Kienbaum Communications has awarded Continental AG a gold ‘Kienbaum Communications Award’ for its communication with job seekers. The award was given after a jury of five, made up of industrial organisational psychologists, human resource officers, communications specialists and trainees evaluated the letters on the basis of authenticity, individuality, linguistic style and their effect on the addressee.
The partnership operating between Watts Industrial Tyres and Continental AG since late 2004 has been replaced by a new strategic alliance with Sri Lankan manufacturer Eu-Retec (Pvt) Limited, who formerly produced tyres for Conti as part of the Watts arrangement. Watts held a 50 per cent share in Eu-Retec until earlier this year.
Continental has officially announced the formation of a joint venture with Eu-Retec, an arrangement in which Conti will take the majority shareholding.
At present Continental reports an overcapacity of more than two million truck tyres in its European markets, a situation that has developed due to a “drastic” fall in demand during the opening months of 2009. To remedy this, the company is further reducing European truck tyre capacity by eliminating a number of jobs at and operations its Continental Matador Truck Tires facility in Puchov, Slovakia.
Continental says it has decided to remove 75 positions will be removed from Puchov by November 30 at the latest. On top of this, following a detailed analysis of the company’s machinery business, Conti will concentrate this aspect of operations to its Hannover-Stöcken plant in Germany. This measure, reports Continental, will affect around 190 Puchov based Continental Machinery employees.
More than a month’s silence over future plans for Continental’s Clairoix factory in France has been broken – a June 10 Reuters report indicates continued interest from the Dubai based Moaffaq Al Gaddah (MAG) Group. The news provider states that MAG plans to purchase the facility and employ around half the current workforce to produce three million tyres per annum.
According to a MAG Group representative, the company submitted a letter of intent to Continental AG on June 9, thereby commencing the due diligence process for acquiring the Clairoix factory. “We have yesterday sent a letter of intent to Continental,” MAG vice-chairman Fawaz Sabri told Reuters. “The objective is to regulate the relationship until we reach a final agreement.”
Continental is spending this week in the grounds of the resplendent Crewe Hall in Cheshire with its European roadshow, promoting the new iteration of its long-haul and regional commercial vehicle tyres (see June’s edition of Tyres & Accessories – soon to arrive at subscribers’ addresses – and Tyrepress.com for more on last month’s launch). The pan-European tour will see Continental’s truck pitch its inflatable display tent in locations including Helsinki, Madrid, Bucharest and most countries in-between. As much as T&A would have liked to take the opportunity to see the display in one of Europe’s cultural capitals, Crewe presented a rather more convenient opportunity to see the interactive displays with which Conti is introducing its series two tyres alongside the innovative ContiCostCalculator, which promises to aid fleet managers in seeing detailed cost comparisons, certified by independent testing organisation Dekra.
According to Reuters and other German media outlets, sources with “direct knowledge of the matter” report that Continental and owner Schaeffler intend to avoid any requests for government financial aid. The finance minister of Germany’s Lower Saxony region, where Continental has its headquarters, said the state has not been received any requests for aid. “We have not even been approached with a preliminary enquiry,” said finance minister Hartmut Möllring. Neither Continental nor Schaeffler have commented about their intentions.
Continental Tire Canada has launched an all-new marketing support program through its website. The addition is dedicated to dealers and distributors, the company said, and offers POS signage, displays, communications material and merchandise. “Our goal is to support our customers the best way possible. After launching our on-line training initiative, Engage 360, in January, this marketing support program is the second Web-based marketing tool we have launched this year,” said Maiti Leinss, marketing coordinator.
Dealers can log in via the Internet or Conti’s extranet, using the same ID and password for all applications. While basic items will be offered for free, supplementary items can be paid for online, Conti said, with all orders eligible for co-op dollars. (Tire Review/Akron)
The deal for Continental’s Clairoix workers first made public by the French CGT union in late May has been officially confirmed. Conti reports that an agreement between its French and German management and trade union and French government representatives was reached on June 6. Upon announcing this agreement, Continental’s Dr. Thomas Winkelmann declared “we are pleased that we have already come up with a solution before the end of the four-week negotiation phase.”
An understanding, as Conti noted in a press statement, was not reached without difficulties. According to the German company, French union representatives “impeded the entire negotiations by rigidly focusing on negotiating the highest possible uniform one-off severance payment” for all affected employees. “The one-off payment of 50,000 euros for each employee is now a component of the overall solution – not more, but also not less, commented Winkelmann.
During its June 8 meeting in Hanover, Germany, the Continental AG Supervisory Board deliberated on various future scenarios for the company, including the option of a merger between it and Schaeffler under the umbrella of a publicly listed Continental AG. In exploring this possible course of action, the Supervisory Board has asked Conti’s Executive Board to assess all aspects of a merger between Continental and Schaeffler, in particular the financial feasibility of such a joining. This process is to be completed by the end of July. At the same time, notes Continental, the Executive Board shall continue to analyse further alternatives and their possible implementation.
In an interview with German news magazine Focus, prime minister of the Lower Saxony region Christian Wulff stated the German federal government and the regions involved may support a solution to the Continental/Schaeffler situation and offer government backed bond guarantees. Wulff, in charge of the federal region where Continental is headquartered, indicated that a solution could involve Continental acquiring parts of Schaeffler and the Schaeffler group ending up owning substantially less than its current share. It would “not retain its 90 per cent share in Conti, but considerably less,” he said.
Construction work has been completed on Continental Tire North America’s new headquarters, and the firm is thus transferring its base of operations Charlotte, North Carolina to South Carolina’s Lancaster County. The US$11 million facility covers a 75,000 square foot area and houses some 375 employees.
“Continental Tire has built a solid reputation by providing outstanding products throughout our 138-year history, and this move to South Carolina is just the next step in our ongoing effort to contribute to the North and South American markets,” says Matthias Schoenberg, CEO of Continental Tire North America.
As of June 1 Russel Stewart has taken on the role of marketing manager at Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA). Stewart has been with Continental since 2004, most recently holding the position of key accounts manager in the Original Equipment division. He has also served as product marketing manager and marketing services manager.
With General Motors now in bankruptcy, details are starting to emerge about what the troubled automaker owes some of its key suppliers. According to reports, GM still owes Goodyear some $7 million, Continental AG some $15.5 million, and another $4 million to Bridgestone Americas. GM plans to pay all of its key suppliers in full, say reports. (Tire Review/Akron)
The union representing workers at Continental’s factory in Clairoix, France announced on May 31 that Conti management had agreed upon a minimum 50,000 euro per person payout in compensation for the facility’s closure. The company had originally offered a 17,000 euro compensation package, which the workers refused.
On May 29 Continental management offered the company’s 1,120 workers in France a pay-off starting at 50,000 euros, extending up to 100,000 euros for those working for the company for more than 30 years. Employees will receive their normal salary until October and 85 per cent of their pay until 2011 and an unemployment benefit equalling 75 per cent of their salary until 2014.
The latest addition to Continental’s industrial tyre portfolio is the radial ContiRV20, a product designed for what the company calls the toughest of environments – airport ground support. Three key qualities serve as important selling points for the new tyre; Conti reports the ContiRV20 delivers longer lifespan, low rolling resistance and comfortable handling at higher speeds. The manufacturer adds that this is the first time these three benefits have been combined within a single radial pneumatic industrial tyre.
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