A 360-degree viewpoint that delivers lower driving costs for fleets through an integrated global automotive force — this was how Continental Tire the Americas, LLC described its truck tire strategy for 2013 and beyond.

During the recent Mid-America Trucking Show, Continental’s Executive Vice President for Truck Tires in the Americas Paul Williams said the tire maker has begun better synergies with others in the Continental AG family, acting as “One Continental.”

“We have more than 170,000 employees; and nearly one in ten of these are involved in engineering or research and development. We have 269 locations in 46 countries. No other tire company has the added value of our automotive divisions that cover Chassis & Safety, Interior and Powertrain, plus our ContiTech partners in the rubber group,” Williams explained, providing an overview of Continental AG’s structure worldwide.

Working together with these sister divisions allows Continental Commercial Vehicle Tire to provide more of what today’s fleets need – a partner for their operations, Williams said.

“We’d like customers to think of us not as a tire manufacturer, but rather a provider of the ‘Lowest Overall Driving Costs,’ which is our truck tire brand promise for fleets worldwide,” Williams explained. “Through our approach that integrates safety, economic and environmental factors, we can tie in all of the products and services that Continental provides and directly impact 30 percent more of a fleet’s direct driving costs than we can provide through tires alone.”

How the Commercial Vehicle Tire business unit plans to deliver these lowered driving costs, Williams said, is through a new customer service approach known as Conti360º. The approach allows for:
•    Greater transparency, more flexible product development and tires which are best in class for first life performance and extended retread life.
•    The ability to reach trucking fleets more than ever before, by doubling the technical support team and aggressively adding sales personnel.
•    More hands-on service. Continental personnel have already hand-checked more than 47,000 truck tires using the ContiTrack2 tire analysis tool.

In order to deliver on these promises, Williams announced that Continental would take the following steps:
•    The truck tire portfolio will be completely revitalized over the next four years, with a new sidewall, naming convention, Generation 3 technologies and all new products.
•    Continental will launch its first product in this new portfolio for NAFTA, the Conti Hybrid HD3, at MATS.
•    ContiLifeCycle will continue to grow, with a total of 26 outlets in the Americas since its inception in 2010. An additional six licensees will be announced in the coming months.
•    Seven additional retreads are expected to be submitted to the U.S.

EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership by the end of the year.
Tying together many of the Continental companies is the new Commercial Vehicle Tire mobile marketing vehicle, dubbed the “Conti360º Tour.”

Continental’s new truck tires, the ContiLifeCycle philosophy for retreading, technology displays and tire knowledge modules are featured inside. The Commercial Vehicle Tire, Commercial Vehicles & Aftermarket and Body and Security business units of Continental have all contributed to products used on the new touring vehicle, including the ContiPressureCheck tire pressure monitoring system. This system will be on sale for the first time at the Mid-America show.