ContiLifeCycle

Choose a new life, instead of a new tyre.

#respectforretreads

What is a retread tyre?

Using our premium hot retreading service, you give new life to your worn truck tyre and realise the full economic performance of the tyre. During hot retreading, the process of applying the tread material is virtually identical to the production of a new tyre where the new rubber is extruded directly to the buffed casing. Afterwards the tread/casing assembly is cured in a vulcanisation mould with the required tread pattern. The pattern on the tread is formed during the vulcanisation process just as it is when a new tyre is made. To ensure a premium finish, every tyre is put through durability and safety tests in adherence to a standardised quality system.

Our ContiRe retreads are exclusively manufactured on Continental casings and provide a retread version of our existing Continental patterns, virtually identical to the new tyre. Our Bandvulc retread brand covers a wide range of specialist applications across its range.

Why choose retreads?

Our retreads are engineered for longevity and performance. A tyre policy incorporating retreading will typically consume 75% fewer tyres than a policy based on low-cost tyres.
Premium quality tyres and retreads typically last up to 50% longer than low-cost single-life tyres
Many premium quality truck tyres can be retreaded more than once, offering a total life expectancy of over 375,000 miles – 15 times round the world!

Retreading is a highly regulated industry; each and every retread which enters our Plant is fully assessed and if suitable for retreading, is meticulously tested throughout its retreading journey.
Being one of the world’s largest tyre manufacturers we also have a long experience in retreading. Extensive quality control processes and advanced technologies are used throughout our Plants; such as ultrasound analysis and shearography.
80% of civil airliners are fitted with retreaded tyres! Extensive regulations and meticulous quality control ensure that customers can buy retread tyres with confidence, and this applies to our world of truck tyres too.

Retreads manufactured in the UK contribute typically 40% more value added to the economy than imported low-cost tyres.
Using retreaded truck and bus tyres delivers three times the resource efficiency and consumes four times fewer tyres than using low-cost single-life tyres.
Retreading provides a new lease of life for your used rubber. By choosing a LifeCycle policy for your tyres not only are you investing in the future of retreading, you can fulfill your environmental objectives by reducing the carbon miles travelled by your tyres.
The retreading of truck and bus tyres contributes £230 million to the UK economy every year.

As part of our innovative Lowest Overall Driving Cost concept, retread tyres not only help our customers cut their tyre-related operational costs, but bring massive sustainability benefits to their business. Up to approximately 50% of carbon emissions can be avoided with producing a retread tyre instead of a new one.
Generally, over 80% of the material from the original tyre can be reused in a retread, saving natural resources and CO2 emissions.
It takes less energy to retread a tyre, than to recycle it - but even the recyling process generates savings. When a tyre is not suitable for retreading the rubber is removed and granulated, generating around 34kg of rubber crumb which is recycled for into other products.

Source: The British Tyre Manufacturers' Association (BTMA)

Our ContiLifeCycle approach

We live in times of huge economic challenges. With increasing focus on safety, product compliance and sustainability today’s fleet operators require a holistic solution to ensure their products create the highest value, deliver maximum performance and meet their sustainability objectives. That’s why we’ve put together our LODC (Lowest Overall Driving Costs) philosophy and it’s designed to reduce tyre-related operating costs for our customers in the following ways…

As part of our Vision 2030 strategy programme, Continental has committed to an ambitious goal of becoming the most progressive tyre company regarding ecological and social responsibility by 2030. At the end of the decade, Continental aims to have more than 40% renewable and recycled materials in its tyres, with a drive to achieve 100% renewable and recycled materials by 2050 at the latest. The ContiLifeCycle programme is an important step on the road to fulfilling these core sustainability goals.

Retreading tyres for a more sustainable future.

Our retreading Plants, where the magic happens.

Our retreading Plants are located in Stöcken, Germany and in Ivybridge, UK, the former home of the Bandvulc Tyres facility. Continual investment into our operations ensures we remain at the forefront of retreading technology including sustainable practices, automation and research into rubber compound development.

Bandvulc’s heritage and expertise is key to aid our strategic plans into Continental’s innovation into the future of hot retreading, find out more about how our Ivybridge Plant has become the innovation hub for our ContiLifeCycle operation here.