FORT MILL, S.C. (March 17, 2011)—Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. is forming a business unit to create a network of retreaders in the U.S. and Canada to help develop a line of proprietary ContiTread precured retreads.
The Conti LifeCycle business unit, expects to start naming its first retread partners in the coming weeks, according to Paul Williams, executive vice president for commercial vehicle tires.
The expanded retread strategy is in addition to Conti's existing license agreement for Conti-branded precured ringtreads with Marangoni Tread North America Inc. That agreement lasts through year-end 2013, Williams said.
Conti late last year acquired a 40-year-old tread rubber plant in Morelia, Mexico, and has re-engineered it in the interim to supply the retread initiative with precured tread rubber. The facility is capable of turning out 500,000 treads annually now, Williams said, but Conti expects that to double by the middle of next year.
The tire maker did not disclose the size of its investment in the plant or the LifeCycle initiative overall.