Continental is the only tyre company that manufacturers bicycle tyres in Germany. The long-time Tour de France associate has always believed in serving cyclists with the best technology features they expect and deserve

How passionate Continental is about the bicycle tyre business can be judged by the company’s history and innovations in the segment. One of the leading innovative tyre makers that caters to all tyre segments, Continental will be celebrating its 150th anniversary of the bicycle tyre production next year.

“Mobility concepts are a core of Continental. We are looking back on a strong heritage and carefully built up expertise over the many years since we are operating. Therefore we find ourselves in the very encouraging position of contributing to mobility developments of today and serving solutions,” Oliver Anhuth, Global, Head of Marketing, Two Wheel Tires Bicycle at Continental Tires,told Tyre Trends.

Continental is the only tyre company that manufacturers bicycle tyres in Germany.

Though bicycles are no more preferred mode to commute on the road as it used to be, love for the bicycle has not faded. According to Anhuth, Continental has a robust international community with many interested people and cyclists who are keen to explore the options they have to tune their bikes easily. “Speaking of our community there are many many passionate fans who actively share information and tips and also help each other with recommendations when it comes to model selection, sizing or tyre pressure questions,” he said.

Over the years, Continental has believed in serving cyclists with the best technology features they expect and deserve. “We find ourselves both seen as an industry leader, yes, and by doing so, with a strong eye on the reliability aspect of our tyres, to really support for the best ride possible,” Anhuth said.

Continental sees the growing demand for more individual solutions and setups in the bicycle tyre business. “By perceiving this, the brand is not only the platform for a company’s overall appearance but also a strong promise we are lucky enough to make to the cyclists. By choosing Continental, cyclists can rely on the fact that the products have proven their performance multiple times before we present it and provide a high level of quality on different price points. We also strongly believe in the handmade aspect we are performing since 1871,” he explained.

In developing markets, such as China and India, which are also the largest bicycle markets and where bicycles are still used as a commuting tool, and there is another market like Europe where bicycles are used from commuting and exercising to for sadventure sports. Being a global company, Continental focuses on understanding different markets to cater to different demands. “We cater to different customers globally, this with various solutions; from specialist tyres to allrounders, from special interest products to generalists, at different price points. We always valued having the chance to gain insights from different perspectives. We learn from this and take this as inspiration to synergize,” said Anhuth.

Like other segments, significant trends are being seen in the bicycle tyre segment as well. Being serving the cyclists for over a century, Continental has a keen eye on emerging trends. “By today we have talked a lot about wider tyres in the classic Road tyre segment in the industry. We had stepped our way early in this field since we saw that increasing the comfort on the bikes was a real topic in the cycling community.”

If the passion and trends are evolving, so are technologies in the bicycle tyre segment. The company introduced the revolution to the tubeless market with the Grand Prix 5000 TL launch back in 2018. With the solution, ambitioned road cyclists finally had the chance to step their way into tubeless, without the discomfort of the early inventions of this technology. 

“Overall we definitely see the ongoing diversification of the formerly classified segments, Road, MTB, Urban/Tour, but in the same instance also the need for simplicity. This may appear as a contradiction but in fact, only shows how big the demand for a proper bike setup is. The goal we are working for is to provide cyclists with easy access to what they like most: riding their bike, without having to care too much for their tyre setup,” said Anhuth.

When it comes to technologies, Continental shares the same passion for bicycle tyres as it does for car tyres. For an instant, its Black Chili compound provides high grip not only in Continental bicycle tyres but in the company’s high-performance car tyres as well.

In its technology and development centre in Korbach, Continental is continuously developing new revolutionary technologies such as the unbeatable Black Chili compound and the ultimate Vectran breaker anti-puncture technology, both used at the top end of race sport.

These technologies demand sophisticated processes to ensure its legendary end-product quality, and these innovations, as well as the ProTection and RaceSport technology for MTB tyres, can only be manufactured in Continental’s factory in Germany.  

Continental has been associated with Tour De France, the iconic cross country bicycle race. “With the Tour de France as the queen of the tours, it is clear that we talk about the strong heritage we have in common.”

Over the decades Continental and Tour De France are working together with the professional teams, and Continental tyres always have been the preferred go-to-brand for many of the decorated winners of the last years.

“The activation of the Tour de France is a shared project we are happy to realize together with our colleagues from the PLT tyre segment. For us, this collaboration just underlines the important role that road cycling plays for many people,” said Anhuth.

“We love to enrich the strong connection with our community, be it merely online at the moment, due to the current situation, but hopefully soon in real life again, too. Learning from the cyclists, be it the ambitioned ones or the professionals, and transferring these gains into solutions, will stay a core driver for us,” he added.

ENDS

Pyrum Innovations AG has announced that its Supervisory Board has extended the contract with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Kai Winkelmann until 31 March 2030 to ensure continuity in the management of the company.

Winkelmann joined the firm in February 2021, and on 1 April 2022, he was initially named to the Executive Board as CFO. He has so far played a major role in obtaining the company's funding during his tenure at Pyrum, including last year's successful capital raise. Winkelmann is in charge of Finance, Compliance and IT in his role on the Executive Board.

Alf Schmidt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said, “We are pleased about the contract extension of Kai Winkelmann, who has proven his skills and in-depth expertise in the financial sector and at the management level in recent years. Over the last four years, he has made a significant contribution to the development of the necessary administrative structures and to the success of the company, and has promoted its rapid further development. We have confidence in his foresight and are convinced that Winkelmann will continue to play a central role in the successful implementation of the company’s goals in the years to come.”

Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) has been selected once again to continue as a constituent of three internationally renowned environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes: the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes, the FTSE4Good Index Series and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World).

Bridgestone has been a part of the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes for two years in a row since 2023, the DJSI World for three years in a row since 2022 and the FTSE4Good Index Series for seven years in a row from 2018. Bridgestone's specific Mid Term Business Plan (2024-2026) has been steadily implemented, putting sustainability at the centre of its operations. The company's 2020 vision and Mid-Long Term Business Strategy served as the foundation for the plan.

According to the company statement, “Setting forth the vision of ‘Toward 2050, Bridgestone continues to provide social value and customer value as a sustainable solutions company’, Bridgestone links its business to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and nature positivity across the entire value chain. From the ‘produce and sell’ phase and the ‘use’ of its products through to their ‘renewal’ to raw materials, Bridgestone aims to build a foundation for creating sustainability value.”

The following initiatives have contributed to Bridgestone's inclusion in these indexes:

• Contributing to a circular economy and attaining carbon neutrality by using ENLITEN technology to make tyres from recycled and renewable resources, using BCMA and switching to ‘Green & Smart’ manufacturing at Bridgestone locations to increase resource productivity and energy efficiency.
• Encouragement of nature positivity through initiatives for the sustainable use of water resources and natural rubber that are closely related to the commercial operations of the firm, including strengthening assistance for natural rubber smallholders.
• Strengthening of a thorough structure and procedure for human rights due diligence that aims to identify, mitigate, avoid and disclose human rights concerns.
• Visualisation and disclosure of the impact of social contribution actions that are in line with the global goals.

German automotive company and tyre major Continental has been added another feather to its cap with bagging the ‘Tire Manufacturer of the Year’ at this year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence at this year’s Tire Technology Expo.

With this, Continental becomes the only tyre maker to have won two concurrent awards – Tire Manufacturer of the Year and Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing. The company’s Lousado facility in Portugal was also recognised for manufacturing tyres CO2-neutrally since last year.

Edwin Goudswaard, Head of Research & Development, Continental Tires, said, "We are especially proud to be the only manufacturer to be honoured twice at the Tire Technology Awards in an extremely competitive field. Both awards highlight our strong commitment to sustainable tire development and manufacturing. In such a highly competitive market, this success demonstrates our innovative prowess and our ability to actively shape the future of the industry."

Interestingly, this also marks it the fourth time that the German company has bagged the Tire Manufacturer of the Year award. The awards took into consideration tyre makers globally and were evaluated by a jury of 27 independent industry experts.

Going forward, Continental has outlined its ambition to switch all of its tyre plants to fully carbon-neutral production processes by 2040 at the latest.

Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) has appointed Jongseon Ahn and Sanghoon Lee as Executive Directors and new Co-CEOs, following a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors meeting held on 26 March.

Ahn will be in charge of Hankook Tire's global innovation, R&D, procurement, production and quality, while Lee will be in charge of global sales and marketing initiatives to strengthen the premium positioning of the company's unified global brand, Hankook, as well as the supply of original equipment (OE) tyres for new vehicles. In addition to the leadership nominations, shareholders approved all eight agenda items at the Annual General Meeting, including the approval of the consolidated financial accounts, partial revisions to the Articles of Incorporation and director appointments.

Ahn has extensive leadership expertise and a proven track record of advancing technology innovation in the operational holding firm, Hankook & Company. He oversaw general management and spearheaded innovative initiatives in 2021 while serving as COO of Hankook & Company and Head of ES (Energy Solution) Business Headquarters. He became the CEO in 2022 and oversaw the company's expansion of premium Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery sales into important international markets, which greatly increased profitability and strengthened the company's platform for long-term success.

Lee's vast worldwide leadership experience serves as the foundation for his profound understanding of marketing and global sales strategy. He has held important regional leadership positions in China and Europe since 2018, during which time he has played a crucial role in bolstering the company's premium brand positioning internationally and continuously promoting creative business performance, both of which have greatly increased revenue. At the conclusion of last year, he was nominated as Hankook Tire's Co-CEO due to his success and leadership.