Conti names new Hoosier Tire president

Lakeville, Indiana – Continental Tire the Americas LLC (CTA) has promoted company and industry veteran Joerg Burfien to president of its Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. subsidiary, succeeding the retiring John DeSalle.

Burfien has been with Continental in various management positions since joining the company in 1998 in the firm's international trainee programme. 

Most recently he was head of global standards and regulations for Continental's Tire Division worldwide.

Among his positions with Continental were two prior assignment in the US, Conti said: head of platform development tires in 2002 and head of CTA's research and development organization from 2006 to 2010. 

Among his responsibilities during the latter assignment was working with Hoosier.

Jochen Etzel, CEO of CTA and Hoosier Racing Tire, said Burfien brings the "technical expertise and leadership qualities required to lead Hoosier into their next chapter" as well as a good understanding of the tire market,

DeSalle, who began his career with Hoosier in 1988 developing radial race tire technology, announced his intention to retire in November in order to take on a new challenge as an executive engineer with the University of Notre Dame's iNDustry Labs.

He had been president of Hoosier since 2016.

Lakeville-based Hoosier Tire supplies tires for racing applications throughout the world, with an emphasis on high performance and quality. Conti acquired it in 2016.