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 that plans to establish a research facility for its ‘Taraxagum’ Russian dandelion rubber project in Anklam, Germany have gained council approval. With this box ticked, the tyre maker is now in the process of acquiring around seven and a half acres (3 hectares) of land in a local business park and obtaining a building permit prior to erecting the first building on the site.
A new indoor tyre test centre will be built at the Continental proving ground in Texas, USA. Around US$10 million will be invested to give the Uvalde site the capability of conducting indoor tests on all tyres manufactured in Continental’s North and South American plants.
Continental AG set the 250 million euro ($271.58 million) expansion of its Hefei, Anhui province, China tyre production plant into operation on 28 March. Total investment in the Hefei plant is now said to be 570 million euros.
Full tyre service provision remains the ultimate goal of premium commercial vehicle tyre suppliers. Approaches to achieving such targets have become increasingly technological, and given the solutions developed by its corporate cousins, Continental’s tyre division is at the forefront. The German manufacturer will use its presence at the CV Show 2017 to highlight its operational solutions, designed to help inform fleets, put efficiency and safety first and provide a complete service to complement its comprehensive range of commercial vehicle tyres; products designed for LGV, HGV, and Materials Handling equipment will be exhibited.
The unworthy have already been weeded out, and now Auto Bild has given the remaining 20 tyres from the original 52 candidates in its 2017 summer test a thorough going over. The size 225/50 R17 tyres were fitted to a BMW 320d for evaluation in a range of disciplines not covered in the preliminary round, including aquaplaning, rolling resistance, mileage and noise. Victory went to the top-ranked rubber from the initial test, the Continental PremiumContact 6.
Two new Continental tyres have made their global debut at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 show, which is taking place in Las Vegas, USA this week. These are the Telemaster and the EM-Master E3/L3.
Although Continental has already announced its exit from football engagements in Europe, its sponsorship of the sport in North America continues. Continental Tire the Americas has extended its agreement with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), Major League Soccer’s (MLS) commercial arm, to continue as an official partner and the official tyre of MLS in the United States and Canada. The multi-year extension to the agreement also gives Continental official sponsor and partner designation and names Continental Tire as the official tyre partner of all 22 MLS clubs.
Continental AG reports achieving annual sales of €40.55 billion in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 3.6 per cent. Adjusted EBIT amounted to €4.34 billion, 0.6 per cent lower than a year earlier, while the adjusted EBIT margin was also slightly down, at 10.8 per cent. Profit after tax rose 2.6 per cent to €2.80 billion; earnings per share were €14.01.
Continental Tyres has been awarded Consumer Superbrands status for 2017. This follows the release of the latest results of the long-running annual survey, which has been identifying the UK’s leading brands since 1995. The process, managed by The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA), questioned 2,500 British adults who assessed just over 1,500 brands. Consumers judged the brands on three key criteria: quality, reliability and distinction.
Continental has introduced a new 19.5” fitment for its urban bus tyre, the Conti Urban HA3, part of its third-generation commercial vehicle tyre range. Tyres for this application are placed under higher stress in the inner-city public transport segment than in any other area of application, Conti states.
It is no secret that Continental and Bandvulc have been working together for decades. So it was also no surprise to learn that the subject of a possible takeover arose as long as 12 years ago. However, the round of talks that resulted in the sale agreement were instigated by Bandvulc managing director Patrick O’Connell during a meeting at the CV show in 2013. In the two or so years that followed the two firms say they grew together before a final deal was completed in July 2016.
A new agreement between Continental AG and Caterpillar Inc. will see the tyre maker equip the 770 to 775 model series of Cat off-highway trucks with Continental RDT-Master tyres in sizes 18.00R33, 21.00R33 and 24.00R35. The agreement also covers a collaboration between the two companies for the design of new tyres for two other Cat products – medium wheel loaders and articulated dump trucks.
As in previous years, Auto Bild has separated the wheat from the chaff in its 2017 summer tyre test with a qualifying round. This year, the original 52 candidates were whittled down to 20 finalists through wet and dry braking tests.
Professor Gert Heinrich has been presented with the Tire Technology International Lifetime Achievement Award. A prominent polymer materials researcher and Continental, Professor Heinrich once trained as a bricklayer; publishing more than 450 journal papers, he has become a world-leading authority in the building blocks of tyre performance.
The 27-member judging panel for this year’s Tire Technology International awards has named Continental its Tire Manufacturer of the Year. The German tyre maker is said to have been propelled to a “narrow victory” ahead of Hankook Tire thanks to the sizable investments in R&D and production it realised or announced during 2016.
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