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.”
What differentiates those who work in marketing within the tyre industry from those employed in a technical capacity? The latter tend not to mince words, and are more likely to say what they think rather than slip into jargon and PR-speak. We can learn a lot from this direct approach.
When Continental began its engagement with the UEFA Champions League in 1995, the notion of a tyre maker sponsoring a football championship rather than a motorsport series was considered novel. Not so today – established and aspiring manufacturers alike have snapped up an abundance of club and series affiliations, and promote these with varying degrees of success. Football sponsorship has become ubiquitous within the tyre industry, and perhaps for this reason, Continental has decided to call it a day. The company has blown the fulltime whistle on its involvement with football, and as of this month begins a new global campaign that ties in with its ‘Vision Zero’ aspirations.
Original equipment tyre approvals are standard practice in the automotive industry, however vehicle manufacturers’ influence on later replacement tyre choice is generally restricted to passive recommendation via OE tyre selection. Mercedes-Benz is taking a more hands-on approach in India, and has teamed up with Continental to offer a range of approved products for replacement tyre customers.
Last month the KAMAZ-Master rally team not only secured a one-two win in the truck category at the Dakar Rally 2017, it was also victorious in the truck section of the Africa Eco Race. Tyre maker Continental states that these two rallies “marked the beginning of a product cooperation” between it and the Russian KAMAZ-Master team. As part of this cooperation, Continental tyres were fitted on the KAMAZ-Master race trucks and all support trucks.
Thailand has been selected as the location for the new passenger car and light truck tyre factory that Continental AG has planned for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Groundbreaking at the 750,000 square metre site in Rayong Province later this year will mark the start of work on phase one of a project that will require an investment of approximately €250 million by 2022 and give the factory a planned production of around 4 million tyres per annum within the same timeframe. Operations are expected to begin in 2019.
Continental intends to divest its shareholding in General Tyre and Rubber Company of Pakistan Ltd. The company owns a 9.78 per cent share in Pakistan’s largest tyre maker through Continental Global Holding Netherlands B.V., and according a notification sent by General Tyre and Rubber to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Continental Global Holding Netherlands intends to sell its entire shareholding “as soon as practically and economically feasible.”
Key preliminary data for Continental’s 2016 financial year has been published, and this shows an increase in both sales and EBIT margin. Reported sales rose three per cent year-on-year to around €40.5 billion, and adjusted EBIT margin amounted to some 10.7 per cent. Upon announcing these results today, Continental wrote that the company “comfortably achieved” its annual targets as adjusted in October 2016.
Continental Tyre Group has announced that Tom Whittaker passed away on 19 December 2016.
Continental has entered into a strategic partnership with DigiLens Inc., a leader in holographic projection technology for application in automotive and consumer electronics. The partnership has been formed to develop ultra-thin Augmented Reality Head-up Displays that will further enhance a wider market penetration in cars of different segments.
From 1 January 2017, BVF1RST, the wholesale arm of the Bandvulc Group will be the exclusive supplier of the Uniroyal truck tyre brand across the UK.
Throughout 2016 Bandvulc has introduced a new generation of tyres. These meet the modern day needs of transport companies and provide consistent performance and safety for regional applications and long-distance routes. The new steer axle FH 40, drive axle DH 40 and trailer axle TH 40 tyres boast increased mileage, wet performance and reduced rolling resistance over predecessors.
Continental Industrial Network and Penny Hydraulics are celebrating five years of collaboration. The companies worked together to design a bespoke solid tyre press for Continental Specialty Tyres in the UK and Ireland. The press was designed for use with industrial solid tyres, predominantly those fitted to material handling equipment such as fork lift trucks. Today, there are over 20 active Penny Hydraulics mobile presses in use throughout Continental’s Industrial Tyre Fitting Network.
At its meeting on 13 December, the Continental AG Supervisory Board approved a five-year contract extension for Dr Ariane Reinhart, the company’s head of human resources and labour relations. Her tenure in the role is now secure up to September 2022.
Scottish bus and coach operator Whitelaws Coaches has implemented a Continental tyres only policy on its fleet following tests against its previous tyre choice. George Whitelaw said, “We had been running other premium tyres for a great many years, but when we were offered the chance to trial Continental’s equivalent product on two of our hard-working bus fleet, we thought it would be good get some sort of measure on how well our policy had been serving us. We were very pleasantly surprised to discover Continental’s Urban HA3 M+S tyres significantly outperformed the tyres we had been using.”
A quartet of new Continental motorcycle tyres were presented at the EICMA show in Italy earlier this month, and the range’s UK distributor states that most products within these ranges should be available by the end of Q1 2017.
Specialist livestock haulier, Frank Hanna, has fitted ContiPressureCheck (CPC) systems onto his dedicated Volvo artic and drawbar trucks. While his livestock rigs, which operate from 3:00am transporting large loads of pigs, sheep and cattle, cover a comparatively low mileage, the nature of the work means navigating rough country lanes and tight farmyards. Therefore, Frank Hanna needed a TPMS to spot tyre problems before blowouts occur. The ContiPressureCheck system uses tyre sensors mounted inside a rubber housing on the tyre inner liner that can continuously measure both pressures and temperatures.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.