Continental - At a glance

1871
Continental-Caoutchoucund Gutta-Percha Compagnieis founded in Hanover on October 8 as a joint stock company. Manufacturing at the main\ factory in Vahrenwalder Street includes soft rubber products, rubberized fabrics, solid tires for carriages and bicycles.

1904
Continental presents the world’s first automobile tire with a patterned tread.

1921
The first giant pneumatic tires are made by Continental and replace the solid tires used until that time on commercial vehicles.

1928/29
Merger with major companies of the German rubber industry to form Continental Gummi- Werke AG.Takeover of plants in Hanover-Limmer & Korbach/Hesse.

1920s
Continental is the leading company in commercial tires with 91% market share in Germany.

1936
Synthetic Rubber is introduced into the tire manufacturing process.

1943
Patent application field for tubeless tires.

1955
At the beginning of the year Continental is the first German company to start manufacturing tubeless tires.

1955 1950s
Continental already oers tires for dierent types of trucks and buses.

1960
Mass production of radial tires begins

1967
Opening of the Contidrom tire testing facility on the edge of the Lüneburg Heath. In 1994/95 the facility is more than doubled in size to enable the construction of new tracks, including a 3.8 kilometer handling course for highperformance cars. In 2001 a 3.7 kilometer track fornoise assessment is opened.

1979
Takeover of the European tire operations of Uniroyal,Inc., USA, gives Continental a wider base in Europe

1987
Acquisition of the North American tire manufacturer General Tire,Inc. The company has been operating under the name of Continental Tire North America, Inc. since 2001.

1989/90
A joint venture is set up together with the Mabor for the production of tires in Lousado. 1993 sees complete takeover of the tire activities and of a factory producing textile cord.

1993
The majority holding in the Czech company Barum comprises a passenger and commercial vehicle tire plant in Otrokovice as well as a dealer organization with about 50 outlets.

1990s
Continental reinforces its position as global tire manufacturer by adding sites in Argentina, Mexico, South Africa & Slovakia.

2003
Continental strenghthens its position in the APAC region by establishing a jointventure together with Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad.The company under the name of Continental Sime Tyre Sdn. Bhd. has 2 tire plants in Malaysia.

2006-2011
Sales oices are established in China (2006), Thailand (2009), Australia (2010) & Indonesia (2011).

2007
With the acquisition of a majority interest in the Slovak company Continental Matador Rubber s.r.o Continental expands its position for the Tires and ContiTech divisions in Central and Eastern Europe. Continental acquires Siemens VDO Automotive AG and advances to among the top five suppliers in the automotive industry worldwide, at the same time boosting its market position in Europe, North America and Asia

2009
The new Asian headquarters and a research and development center is opened in Shanghai.The center represents another major milestone for the company’s growth in China and Asia.

2011
Continental acquires 100% stake in Modi Tyres Company Limited in Modipuram, India. It is renamed as Continental Tyres India Limited. The new entity will focus on local production and distribution of bias and radial truck and bus tires as well as radial passenger car tires for the Indian market.This further strengthens Continental’s presence in growing markets in Asia. Schaeler KG becomes the major shareholder of Continental AG following in the conclusion of the take-over oer published in the summer of 2008.

2012
Continental acquires the remaining shares of Sime Tyres.

2013
The Continental Generation 3 Bus Tires are intorduced. The ContiLifeCycle plant in Habover is established as world’s first fully intergrated plant for hot retreading tires and rubber recycling.