• Employee relaunch event at Fort Mill headquarters August 2^nd
• Off The Road (OTR) reenters the Americas markets after 10 years away
• OTR is a developing product segment of Commercial Specialty Tires (CST)

Fort Mill, SC, July 27, 2016. Continental celebrates the return of the Off The Road (OTR) sales and product lines to the Americas markets beginning in August 2016. This will be the first time Continental has entered the Americas OTR markets in ten years. Continental will reenter the OTR/earthmover segment of Commercial Specialty Tires in the Americas markets, including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as Brazil and the Andean markets.

The decision to reenter the markets after the long hiatus was based upon several factors, including dealer enthusiasm for Continental products. “From a tire dealer’s perspective Continental is a great partner,” said Dan Rice, President of Piedmont Truck Tires, a longstanding Continental truck tire seller founded in 1978, with 9 locations located in and around the Carolinas. “Continental has trouble-free products at fair prices that allow the dealer to make money and still offer a great value to the customer. We’re all very excited to see them bring OTR back into the mix,” he added.

The OTR/earthmover product segment is part of a rapidly evolving business unit at Continental, Commercial Specialty Tires (CST). The addition of the OTR segment will increase the already excellent reputation CST has as a supplier of material handing tires, including forklift, airport, port and container handling segments. Continental is planning to rollout with four sizes initially and intends to add to the product portfolio over the coming months and into 2017.

To celebrate the reentry into the Americas market, the Off The Road team will be hosting an employee event at the Continental U.S. headquarters in Fort Mill, SC on August 2^nd, 2016. Activities will include a cookout, a Caterpillar 980 loader on display, an OTR tire service truck and a formal update on the new direction of the CST business unit.

“This is a tremendous occasion not just for us, but for all Continental employees, “Said Federico Jiminez, CST Manager for the Americas. “We are entering the very robust market after a decade and we are in a position to do truly great things for our customers across the Americas. Everyone has worked hard to make this day a reality, it really deserves a celebration,” he added. 

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent, and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. Continental generated sales of €37.7 billion in 2020 and currently employs around 235,000 people in 58 countries and markets. In 2021, the company celebrates its 150th anniversary.

The Tires business area has 24 production and development locations worldwide. Continental is one of the leading tire manufacturers with more than 56,000 employees and posted preliminary sales of €10.2 billion in 2020 in this business area. Continental ranks among the technology leaders in tire production and offers a broad product range for passenger cars, commercial and special-purpose vehicles as well as two-wheelers. Through continuous investment in research and development, Continental makes a major contribution to safe, cost effective and ecologically efficient mobility. The portfolio of the Tires business area includes services for the tire trade and fleet applications, as well as digital management systems for tires.

Continental develops pioneering technologies to make commercial transport safer, more efficient and more connected. The company’s products and services deliver measurable impact for commercial vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket. They benefit from a broad portfolio and from fully integrated systems. The portfolio includes tires, digital tire monitoring, fleet management, telematic solutions, Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) and tachographs, hoses, air springs, Electronic Control Units (ECU), displays, drivetrain and exhaust aftertreatment systems, sensors, advanced driving assistance systems, as well as eHorizon maps and events and cloud-based services. In 2017, the share of Continental’s global sales for commercial vehicle products and systems was around €4.7 billion.