FORT MILL, SC – Continental Tire the Americas, LLC’s (“Continental”) Commercial Vehicle Tire Business Unit has expanded its ContiLifeCycle footprint to the west coast with a new licensee. The company reports that Rovince International Corp. in Compton, Calif. is the latest retreader to adopt the ContiLifeCycle process.

With 25 years experience in retreading, Rovince International decided in mid-2012 that the ContiLifeCycle was the perfect complement to its business lines, said company president Lionel Perera. The company is primarily known in the U.S. as an activated carbon importer, but also sells truck and industrial solid tires at several company-owned dealerships.

“We were very familiar with Continental as one of the leading tire manufacturers in the world, and we carry Continental truck tires at our retail locations. With the ContiLifeCycle retread solution, we are now able to create more business by following the Continental tire through its entire lifetime. It’s a good match,” Perera said.

Production of the ContiTread branded retreads began Dec. 1, Perera said. Rovince has the capacity to produce approximately 200 retreads daily, and found that the ContiTreads were very competitive to other brands, he added.

“The quality of the ContiTreads and the mileage they get was very important to us. We have tested the tires with several fleets and found that they can definitely produce more mileage than other retreads on the market. This makes us more competitive and it’s a package that we can sell – both the new and the retread with the same performance and tread patterns,” Perera said.

Paul Williams, Continental’s executive vice president for truck tires – the Americas, said the growth of the ContiLifeCycle and expansion to the west coast means that fleets in the region now have access to the fuel-efficient ContiTreads mandated by California regulations.

“We’re happy to report that Rovince has begun production of our HDL Eco Plus and HTL Eco Plus ContiTreads, which are SmartWay verified for low rolling resistance. This is especially important in California, where SmartWay verification is required for many truck tires after January 1, 2013,” Williams said. “We are pleased to meet this need with ContiTreads from Rovince International.”