LOUISVILLE. A broad effort is now underway by Continental Tire North America (CTNA) to build market share in the U.S. trucking industry as it introduced new products and programs here at the Mid-America Trucking Show.
“With new products and programs comes new chances and opportunities,” said Paul Williams, executive vp-The Americas at Continental Tire, CTNA’s parent company. “Our mission is to deliver overall driving savings to the customer. That’s what we’re focused on.”
At the heart of CTNA’s strategic “blitz” are seven new tire models all designed to improve fuel efficiency and extend tire mileage. “We’re offering fleets a wide range of new products that meet their needs; from steer tires, to drive tires, to trailer tires,” said Clif Armstrong, commercial vehicle tire marketing director-The Americas Continental Tire. “We listened to our customers and used their feedback to create tires that maximize the efficiency of their operations and offer them the lowest overall driving costs.”
LOUISVILLE. A broad effort is now underway by Continental Tire North America (CTNA) to build market share in the U.S. trucking industry as it introduced new products and programs here at the Mid-America Trucking Show.
“With new products and programs comes new chances and opportunities,” said Paul Williams, executive vp-The Americas at Continental Tire, CTNA’s parent company. “Our mission is to deliver overall driving savings to the customer. That’s what we’re focused on.”
At the heart of CTNA’s strategic “blitz” are seven new tire models all designed to improve fuel efficiency and extend tire mileage. “We’re offering fleets a wide range of new products that meet their needs; from steer tires, to drive tires, to trailer tires,” said Clif Armstrong, commercial vehicle tire marketing director-The Americas Continental Tire. “We listened to our customers and used their feedback to create tires that maximize the efficiency of their operations and offer them the lowest overall driving costs.”
Those tire models include: The HSR2 (heavy steer regional) regional steer tire; HDL2 DL (heavy drive long-haul deep lug) over-the-highway tire; the HTL (heavy trailer long-haul) Eco Plus trailer tire; the HSU 2 (heavy steer urban) tire for refuse haulers and construction fleets; and the HTL1 (heavy trailer long-haul) wide-base trailer tire. “These five new tires demonstrate Continental’s commitment to the commercial vehicle tire business, available for every key segment,” said Armstrong.
CTNA also unveiled several new programs to both support those tires in the field and build market awareness of their capabilities among potential customers.
A new nationwide emergency road service dubbed “ContiFleet” goes live in April, designed to address the needs of owner-operators and small fleet owners. It provides a single-source program for emergency road service, including guaranteed member pricing for tire and road service plus towing services. The free membership program features a 24-hour, seven-day per week hotline for those operators that do not qualify for other national road service programs.
CTNA has also revamped its “ContiCostCalculator,” first introduced in 2006, so it is a more comprehensive tool for comparing the total cost of ownership of different brands and models of truck tires. It’ll become available in April through Continental sales representatives and local Continental Tire dealers.
The company is also launching a nationwide marketing program, dubbed the “Untamed Innovation Tour,” to promote its tires and educate customers via a “rolling classroom” built into a 53-ft. trailer. The information center within the trailer features a movie theatre, rolling resistance demonstration, driving video game and two touch-screen information displays that explain Continental’s tire construction technologies and innovative tire engineering, along with the company’s new ContiCostCalculator tool. The tractor pulling the classroom is a customized 2010 Navistar Lonestar truck.
Finally, CTNA is taking the wraps off a nationwide contest designed to get fleets focused on how tires and fuel savings go hand in hand. Called the “Beat the Best” competition, it’ll run March 1 through May 15 this year for fleets throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Shaun Uys, Continental’s director of replacement tire sales for North America, said each fleet will track fuel consumption and mileage on a weekly basis for two trucks; one equipped with new Continental HSL2 and HDL Eco Plus premium truck tires and one identical truck model with new tires of any other national brand. During the 10-week contest, each fleet must drive at least 10,000 miles with each truck. The fleet that achieves the lowest fuel consumption in gallons per 100 miles on their truck with Continental tires will be awarded the new Fuel Savings Champion award, with separate awards for four regional winners.