Conti relaunching US truck tyre line with new names

Tire Business staff report

Fort Mill, South Carolina -- Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. (CTA) is renaming all of its General-brand truck tyres to simplify product choices and reflect their intended wheel positions and applications.

The Fort Mill-based tyre maker also is rebranding its off-road truck tyres under the General Grabber name and will add 30 truck tyre sizes over the next year throughout the Americas.

The name changes will be phased in over the next few years, a company spokeswoman said.

The company said it hopes this new focus and identity will resonate with commercial truck drivers across the Americas.

“The General name is one that our customers know and trust, but today we are going to strengthen it even further with our new focus,” said CTA Truck Tire Brand manager Libor Heger. “Our plan is to offer dealers more choice than ever before. Over the next year we will be extending our product portfolio with coverage in more sizes, as well as more coverage in the on/off road segment.”

Starting in the US, CTA has introduced a new full color data book with complete tyre product information specifications and new literature for each tyre.

Under the new programme, General highway and regional truck tyres will be given either the General H (for highway) or General R (for regional) nomenclature, while the off-road tyre portfolio will be rebadged under the Grabber name.

In accordance with this change, CTA launched the Grabber OA (off-road, all-position) 1 July in sizes 11R22.5 and 11R24.5. The tyre is the same product as the General MS520 steer- and all-position truck tire for construction and other off-road applications.

In addition, the company will phase in additional off-road lines including the General Grabber OD (drive tire) possibly next spring, and the General Grabber OT (trailer tyre) some time after that, the spokeswoman said.

CTA is looking to promote the General brand throughout the Americas, Mr. Heger said, and will introduce new sizes that will be produced locally and in specifications reflecting their local markets.

Over the next year, the tyre maker will launch 11 new General truck tyre sizes for the US made at the firm´s Mt. Vernon, Illinois, tyre plant, eight new sizes for Brazil made at the company's plant in Camacari, Brazil, and 10 new sizes for the Andean region from its recently radialized truck tyre plant in Cuenca, Ecuador.

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Tire Business (a Crain publication)