Continental re-enters ag market with introduction of 2 tires

HANOVER, Germany—A little more than two years after it confirmed plans to re-enter the farm tire market, Continental A.G. has launched its first two standard ag tires, the Tractor 70 and 85, and said they'd be available in North American this summer.

The premium radial drive tires are available initially in 14 sizes, a fraction of the 100 sizes Conti said it will offer in its radial and bias-ply tire portfolio by 2019.

The tires will debut in North America at the Farm Progress Show, Aug. 28-30, in Boone, Iowa.

The move is part of the growth strategy of the Commercial Specialty Tires business unit that Conti launched in 2012. After a 10-year hiatus, the Hanover-based firm re-entered the OTR tire sector in late 2015, rolling out several construction/mining tires over that time span.

Conti manufactured ag tires from 1928-2004 at its plant in Otrokovice, Czech Republic.

Nikolai Setzer, a member of the Executive Board of Continental and head of the tire division, said re-entering the ag tire business is an important step for the company's growth of the tire division.

"The agricultural tire portfolio completes the product range for offroad use," he said.

Conti exited the ag sector 14 years ago when it divested its ag tire business to Mitas a.s. of Czech Republic. Conti reclaimed the brand rights to the Continental brand for ag tires in 2014 from Mitas, which was acquired by Trelleborg A.B. in 2016.

According to Setzer, the Tractor 70 and 85 are engineered for efficiency and will help farmers boost productivity. With farm land dwindling across the world, Conti said, harvests have to be gathered in shorter times while farmers must boost efficiency while ensuring sustainable use of resources.

The ag tires, the company said, play an important role in increasing the efficiency of agricultural vehicles.

"They are designed to systematically enhance the productivity of the machine in use along with the quality of its work on a sustained basis," Setzer said.

Conti said the tires were designed to provide optimal traction and soil protection with minimum slippage, increased fuel consumption, longer tire wear and low pressure on the ground.

The company said the right height of lugs, good self-cleaning properties of the tire, a large tire diameter and a high air volume for low tire pressures provide optimal tractive power transmission.

Thorsten Bublitz, product line manager for agricultural tires at Continental Commercial Specialty Tires, said those were important factors in developing the tires.

"Optimum tractive power transmission out on the field, good traction for faster forward travel, minimal slip of 10–15 percent and the right tire pressure for protecting the ground help to boost long-term productivity," Bublitz said.

Conti said the tires feature the "N.flex technology" and have a special bead design with a single wire core, making them extremely robust, reducing the risk of tire damage.

The firm said the nylon used for the carcass is more stretchable than other materials and can mold itself around lumps and bumps on the ground. The dimensional stability of the nylon technology prevents temporary a flat spot on the tire at the start of operations.

The Tractor70 is slightly wider than the Tractor85, and offers a bigger contact patch between the tire and ground. It can run with lower air pressure even when bearing heavy loads, resulting in less ground pressure and, in turn, less ground compaction.

The tires are produced at Continental Mabor Industria de Pneus S.A. plant in Lousada, Portugal. Conti also produces bias-ply tires for the agricultural sector in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

According to Matthew Futrelle, sales and marketing manager for Continental Commercial Specialty Tires U.S./Canada, Conti is building its distribution network and is seeking partners in certain markets.

"We think our ability to supply premium quality farm tires with N.flex technology and our innovative bead designs will give us a competitive advantage for our market re-entry," Futrelle said.