Pressemitteilung
Continental Industrial Tyres business unit:
A passion for solid rubber
Hanover / Korbach, September 2007. Continental AG has a separate business unit which
develops, produces and markets its industrial tyres. The production site in Korbach in
Hesse, Germany, was founded in 1907 as a subsidiary of the Mitteldeutsche
Gummiwarenfabrik Louis Peter AG and still today has a special relevance for the
Industrial Tyres business unit.
As one of the world's leading systems suppliers, Continental plays an important role in providing
safe, comfortable and personal mobility. The corporation has over 100 sites worldwide for its
four divisions: Car tyres, Commercial vehicle tyres, Automotive and ContiTech. Within the
Commercial vehicle tyre division, tyres for light and heavy trucks, plus off-road and industrial
tyres are manufactured at nine sites in six countries to supply the Original Equipment sector and
the aftermarket business.
Continental's Industrial Tyre business unit offers a comprehensive range, with industrial tyres for
every application. In Germany and the rest of Europe, Continental is the No. 1 for these
products and one of the top three suppliers worldwide. This strong position has been achieved
through the customer-oriented focus and close customer contact with over 500 staff in 20
countries, combined with optimum product quality. The market appreciates the full range of
products available and also their performance. In addition to the ability to innovate, what makes
the Industrial Tyres business unit particularly stand out is its co-operative approach, which
enables customer-specific problems to be resolved.
Well-known O.E. suppliers like Toyota, Jungheinrich, Manitou, Linde, Still and Montini cooperate closely with Continental Industrial Tyres in tyre development. State-of-the-art
technology and considerable effort go into designing not just forklift tyres, but also tyres for a
wide range of industrial applications. From luggage trolleys at airports via forklifts to Unimogs,
the selection of tyres available - both pneumatic and solid - is extensive. The work that goes into
development and the production technology involved, certified according to current ISO
standards, is carefully monitored by the quality management team. The high degree of
automation in production, combined with a careful final inspection, ensures high product
consistency giving optimum quality and safety for the customer.
Having a reliable product is not the end of the story though. An efficient supply chain
management ensures short delivery times. For customer service, technical support and
extensive product training are the basis for our premium performance. Customer training,
technical manuals in five languages, plus product folders in ten languages round off the
premium focus.
For the Industrial Tyres business unit, the site in Korbach has a very special relevance. The
Continental factory in Korbach can look back on an extremely long history. It was founded back
in 1907 as a subsidiary of the Mitteldeutsche Gummiwarenfabrik Louis Peter AG. At that time,
180 employees manufactured bicycle tyres, solid tyres and technical rubber products. In 1929,
Louis Peter AG merged with Continental AG in Hanover.
Today, the site in Korbach is Continental's largest German production facility and is of major
economic importance for the corporation and for North Hesse. In 2006, turnover was an
impressive 458.9 million euros. Some 3,100 employees produce approximately ten million tyres
per year - of these, the daily totals are 28,000 car tyres and 5,300 tyres for two-wheeled
vehicles; plus 130 kilometres of hose (for the corporate division ContiTech) and around 2,300
industrial tyres, including almost 1,700 CSE tyres and just under 600 Elastic POBs.
CSE tyres are a 'Korbach speciality' with quite an exciting history. In 2004, the five millionth
CSE tyre came out of the mould! Up until 1965, the only tyres available worldwide for industrial
trucks were elastic press-on bands (POBs) and pneumatic industrial tyres. Continental
developed the first solid tyre to fit the rims designed for pneumatic industrial tyres. That was the
start of the CSE family of products. A further pioneering development was the SIT retaining
bead on the CSE tyre, which enables it to be fitted firmly on to the rim without the rim
components normally required.
Overall, Continental has repeatedly succeeded in delivering highly innovative solutions in the
field of industrial tyres. The current CSEasy system allows solid tyres to be fitted without the
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need for a fitting press. The TSR system (Tubeless Sealing Ring) was another intelligent
solution for tubeless radial tyres; this system was positively received by the market and users.
Korbach is not the only site where Continental produces industrial tyres. Industrial radials and
MPT pneumatic radials are manufactured in Otrokovice in the Czech Republic, whilst in
Malaysia crossply and solid tyres are produced for the Asian market. There are also off-take
production arrangements with Mitas in Zlín and Prague, where industrial pneumatic MPT, and
EM crossply tyres are manufactured for Continental.
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.
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