As a reliable partner, the international tyre manufacturer, automotive supplier, and industrial partner offers sustainable, safe, comfortable, customised, and affordable solutions. The corporation with its five divisions Chassis & Safety, Interior, Powertrain, Tyre and ContiTech generated sales of approximately €34.5 billion in 2014 and currently employs around 208,000 people in 53 countries.
The Commercial Specialty Tyre division offer a range of market leading tyres and services used across various applications such as materials handling, airports, port and harbours, earthmoving and heavy metal industries.
WLN – As a leading supplier in the Commercial Tyres category, what has the last year been like for your business?
Over the last year the industry has continued to move in the right direction in line with our expectations. End users are placing more emphasis on performance, safety and the environmental credentials of their tyres looking at the bigger picture rather than the initial purchase price. For Continental the Whole Life Cost of a tyre has always been important, and our tyres focus on maximising the return on investment. The purchase price of a tyre is just the tip of the iceberg, when considering all the associated operating costs of running the tyres on the vehicle – such as fuel consumption, tyre life and the cost of premature removal, vehicle downtime, vehicle maintenance – not to mention the comfort and safety of drivers. The initial purchase price is not as important as it once was.
WLN – What are your best known products and services?
Continental Specialty Tyres are the only manufacturer to provide a full range of industrial tyres including Solid, Pneumatic, Press on Band and OTR ranges. We are best known for introducing innovations to the market such as the first SIT tyre, the revolutionary CSEasy, the market leading SC20 range and the first solid retread – Conti LifeCycle. As with most things in life you get what you pay for. Built to last, Continental tyres offer best in class performance, strength, durability and service life.
WLN – What makes you the first choice supplier in your field?
Continental Specialty Tyres have been at the forefront of innovation for over 40 years introducing the first solid tyre for conventional pneumatic tyre rims in 1965, to the first solid retreaded tyre in 2012 and the unique SC20 Energy+ & Mileage+ in 2014. Continental sets the future in motion and is the ultimate solution provider for all tyre needs, with tyres developed around applications and vehicles and decades of experience in the market.
Coupled with the Conti Industrial Network – a national network of specialised, accredited industrial tyre service partners – we can also offer fleets excellent service quality levels, standardised pricing, centralised ordering and billing, making us the go to supplier for industrial tyres and services.
WLN – What new products and services have you introduced?
In 2014, we introduced the new SC20 Mileage+ & SC20 Energy+ which offer end users a tailored solution to their needs.
The SC20 Mileage+ is a perfect fit for internal combustion powered vehicles used in outdoor or demanding applications with rough abrasive surfaces. The tyre focuses on abrasion resistance lasting up to 20% longer than its predecessor. The SC20 Energy+ on the other hand is a perfect fit for electric powered vehicles used indoors and on even surfaces.
The tyre provides the lowest rolling resistance which reduces energy consumption and costs.
Building on the success of this tailored approach, in the last year we have also added the CS20 tyre. With its closed shoulder design, this tyre minimises vibrations whilst at the same time providing good traction and excellent cornering stability.
WLN – What industries are your customers in?
Offering such a wide range of industrial tyres we have customers in various sectors such as the traditional warehouse applications, pharmaceutical, automotive, food and manufacturing, airport and harbour industries.
We also have a full range of tyres for commercial truck vehicles that operate in haulage, freight, construction and logistics, to mention a few.
WLN – How do your products and services help customers become more efficient, greener or work safer?
Our R&D programme invests millions into tyre design, material specifications and production processes to ensure that Continental products lead the way in terms of lowest energy consumption, longest service life and lowest total cost of ownership for our customers.
With the introduction of Conti Lifecycle – a retreaded solid tyre – we can now also offer customers a green solution for their used Continental tyres. Instead of having to scrap all their used tyres (called casings) after their first life, Continental now takes these casings back and re-uses them in the manufacture of Conti Lifecycle. This not only helps reduce the numbers of scrap tyres, but material and energy savings are also made in the production of a Conti Lifecycle tyre compared to a new tyre.
WLN – Is there a recent or current project that stands out as a showcase for your company? Can you tell us about it?
Over the last two years we have worked to build a national network of independent industrial tyre service providers, called the Conti Industrial Network. We now have over 25 locations across the UK & Ireland in the network, employing IMI accredited industrial tyre technicians and who stock and fit the whole family of Continental brands – Continental, Barum and Lifecycle. We are extremely pleased with the high service levels offered by our network partners and our customers benefit from competitive costs, one price level nationally, call centre and central billing.
Longer term the company is exploring alternative rubber sources derived from Russian Dandelions. Potentially being used for all tyre applications, this solution would significantly reduce the pressure on conventional rubber supplies.
WLN – What were your company’s biggest achievement in the last 12 months?
Our biggest achievement has definitely been establishing the Conti Industrial Network and winning contracts for the complete tyre and service provision for the fleets. In achieving this, the Network has shown its ability to compete with other providers offering a high quality and reputable service provision.
WLN – Are you currently investing in the business, taking on staff or going into new markets or countries? If so how is it going?
Over the last two years the Commercial Tyre division has invested significantly in its manufacturing base. In 2013 we opened a truck tyre retreading plant in Hannover, Germany. The plant, which is a worlds first, integrates a cutting-edge facility for retreading bus and truck tyres with a proprietary industry-scale rubber recycling unit. We are also in the process of significantly expanding truck and bus tyre production facilities in Otrokovice, Czech Republic and Puchov, Slovakia, with a total investment of €265 million in the upcoming years.
We also continue our focused investment into new products to enable us to expand into new areas. For example starting next year we will launch a whole range of Earthmover tyres as well as tyres for underground mining.
WLN – What are you doing to bring on new talent and raise the skills levels in your company?
Our employees are the key to success. They are what make Continental strong. We expect commitment and strength of purpose from our employees. We reward excellence and create the working conditions required to enhance and foster quality performance. We promote devotedness, qualifications, education and training, flexibility and loyalty as a matter of course. A great deal is invested in the workplace in all areas of the corporation. The corporation is committed to providing healthy working conditions and ensuring safety in the workplace.
WLN -What are the major issues facing the commercial tyres category as we go forward? How is your company addressing them?
A constant challenge is the cost pressures our customers are under and the need to help them control and minimise costs. We do this in a number of ways, with the biggest impact possible where customers take advantage of the full package we have to offer: fitting the right tyre for their operation and vehicles, optimum tyre management through our service network, re-using worn tyres with Conti Lifecycle, as well as national and/or regional contracts with bespoke service level agreements, central invoicing and management reporting.
WLN – Are you exhibiting at any major trade shows this year?
Yes, in the UK we have plans to be at the Commercial Vehicle Show in April, Hillhead Quarrying & Construction Show in June and the IMHX Exhibition in September.
WLN – What other big news from Continental Tyre Group can our readers look forward to reading in Warehouse and Logistics News in 2016?
Big news for 2016 will be around our new product launches for Earthmover and underground mining tyres. Furthermore, we will continue to roll out ContiPressureCheck to our industrial end users – those using pneumatic tyres and not solid tyres, obviously! ContiPressureCheck is a real time tyre pressure monitoring system which alerts drivers of any loss in tyre pressure. In particular environments where punctures and tyre damage are common occurrences, this enables early action to be taken – often saving the tyre, reducing vehicle downtime and the associated costs.
01895 425900
Comments are closed.