Press release
The success story of the Industrial Tyres business unit:
100 years of the Korbach site, 40 years of innovation for industrial
tyres
The county town of Korbach in north Hesse is the largest German site belonging to the
Continental corporation and currently has 3,100 employees. The site covers an area of
almost 300,000 m² and houses both Continental AG and ContiTech Fluid Technology.
The 150,000,000th radial car tyre produced in Korbach already came off the production
line in 2003!
Solid industrial tyres (CSE) are also a genuine 'Korbach speciality'.
Historical development
1907
The factory was founded as a subsidiary of the Mitteldeutsche Gummiwarenfabrik Louis
Peter AG – Frankfurt am Main by Louis Peter (1841 - 1921). Initially, bicycle tyres, solid
tyres and technical rubber products were manufactured.
1929
Merger with Continental AG. Production in Korbach now included tyres for bicycles,
motor vehicle, aeroplanes, industrial solid tyres and technical hoses.
1945
Production of technical hoses was resumed.
1954
The manufacture of crossply tyres for cars was restarted.
1965
Continental Super-Elastic (CSE) tyres have been manufactured in Korbach since 1965 those days there was nothing like them on the market. 4,000 tyres were produced per
year. Nowadays, just three days are needed to manufacture 4,000 CSE tyres. Up until
1965, the only tyres available worldwide for industrial trucks were elastic press-on bands
(POBs) and pneumatic industrial tyres. Continental was the first to develop a solid tyre to
fit the rims designed for pneumatic industrial tyres. This gave rise to today's CSE family
of products, which are made in Korbach for customers around the world.
1971
The factory in Korbach became Europe's largest manufacturing facility for technical
hoses. The entire production sector was transferred from Hanover to Korbach.
1978
Continental's Snap-In-Tyre (SIT) enabled SE tyres to be fitted quickly without the need
for loose rim parts. This patent solution means our partners save time and money,
because fitting involves just one press. With its SIT (Snap-in-Tyre) design Continental
was the first company to produce a major innovation in the SE tyre sector - a patent
solution for genuine time savings.
1990
The production sectors Technical Hoses and Sealing Profiles became independent
companies: ContiTech Schlauch GmbH and ContiTech Profile GmbH.
1999
Production of sealing profiles was moved to Hanover.
2000
3.5 million CSE tyres produced since 1965.
2000 – 2001
Two new storage warehouses were built (total area 17,000 m²).
2002
Transfer of parts of tyre production from Gislaved
2001 – 2006
Production volume was increased.
2004
On 30th March, the five millionth CSE tyre rolled off the production line!
2005
The CSEasy ushered in an entirely new era of fitting technology - from then on, fitting
presses were no longer needed for changing tyres. The clear benefits are: greater
economy, improved safety through simplified processes, plus enormous time-savings!
A newly-developed adapter between the basic elements rim and tyre simplifies tyre
changing.The tapered shape of the adapter and the fixing bolts ensure the tyre sits
well on the rim. The CSEasy tyre can be fitted quickly and easily to any rim with a
Lemmerz contour - two hands and a torque wrench are all that is required!
2007
The new SC 20 tyres set new standards in economy and environment protection. Up
to 20% higher mileage, 30% lower rolling resistance and 5% lower CO2 emissions
means energy- and cost-savings; they also meet modern demands in terms of
ecological sustainability.
Tubeless Sealing Rings (TSRs) enable tubeless industrial tyres to be fitted to
standard industrial tyre rims. The TSR consists of a rubber ring with an integrated
pump-up valve. The benefits of the tubeless solution: no sudden loss of air in the
case of tyre failure, the device remains operational, no abrupt load shifts, movement
on the rim is non-critical, fitting is quicker and more straightforward, and involves
fewer parts than a tyre with tube.
Continental is the only tyre manufacturer to supply a comprehensive range of industrial tyres,
making it the No. 1 in Germany and Europe, and one of the top three worldwide.
The Continental Corporation is a leading automotive supplier of tyres, brake systems, chassis
components, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers. In 2006 the corporation realised
sales of EUR14.9 billion. At present it has a worldwide workforce of approximately 89,000.
The tyre divisions are an Official Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008TM, which will be held in Austria
and Switzerland in June 2008. For further details, visit the websites www.ContiSoccerWorld.de,
www.ContiFanWorld.com, www.conti-online.com.
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Press contact:
Ute Weiß
Communication / PR Manager Industrial Tyres
Continental AG
Büttnerstraße 25
D-30165 Hanover, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 511 938 – 2131
Fax:
+49 (0) 511 938 – 2706
E-mail: ute.weiss@conti.de
www.conti-online.com
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Udo Brandes
Head of Press and PR Commercial Vehicle
Tyres
Phone : +49 (0) 511 938 - 2923
Fax :
+49 (0) 511 938 - 2496
E-mail: udo.brandes@conti.de