Otago Tyres St Andrew St – Continental

Continental Tyres History 

What we now know as Continental tires began with a company called Continental-Caoutchouc und Gutta-Percha-Compagnie that was created in 1871 in Hannover, Germany. Like other manufacturers, they began dedicating their activity to the production of rubber products, mainly rubber for bicycles and cars, but also footwear, waterproof fabrics and even balls.

However, the brand’s engineers were somewhat visionary and, above all, quite reluctant to stagnate. Thanks to their desire to grow and their capacity for innovation, as well as the incipient changes in the automotive industry, in 1904 they presented their first car tire with a tread and, years later, the first removable rim.

This is the starting point for the modern technologies that the Continental group would include throughout the 20th century: synthetic rubber and rubber reinforcement are some of the advances in durability that the brand has achieved.

Thanks to these advances, the company expands throughout Europe and begins to export its products. In the 1950s, for example, its tires were already mounted on the legendary Volkswagen Beetle. Then they devise the winter modality and those that do not have an inner tube. In the 1960s, the chain production of tires with a radial structure began.

In 1979 the company acquired the Uniroyal Inc. brand in Europe an American firm that is now the second Continental brand, then with the Austrian Semperit and later with General Tire. Already in the 90s, he managed to create the largest company in Malaysia, he bought part of ITT Industries dedicated to the production of brakes and bodywork and in 2001 he acquired the majority of Temic shares to achieve better results in terms of stability controls.

It is in 2004 when it manages to become part of the largest consortium of rubber companies: Phoenix AG. In addition, it does not stop investing in security and electronic systems to strengthen its position and move up the ranking.

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