Continental Tires recently appointed Edwin Goudswaard as Head of Research and Development. Goudswaard takes over from Dr. Boris Mergell who is now in charge of the user experience business area at Continental Automotive.
Both appointees took to their office effective September 1, 2023. Goudswaard has worked at Continental since 2006. He studied mechanical engineering and did an international research and development trainee program before working in product and virtual development for OE tires.
Goudswaard held different management positions in R&D between 2013 and 2021. He represented passenger car and two-wheeler tires in Asia and Europe. He was also part of the company’s recent global research and development activities in passenger car tire replacement sectors.
Continental purposely invests in new tech to make tire production, daily use, and recycling economical and eco-friendly. Other areas of focus include eco-friendly production practices and alternative materials.
Currently, the company has the UltraContact NXT tire range that includes up to 65% recycled, renewable, and ISCC PLUS mass-balance-certified materials. The tires are currently available for sale in Europe.