Continental has been awarded the prestigious title of ‘Tire Manufacturer of the Year’ at the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence. This recognition highlights the company’s ongoing efforts in advancing sustainability within the tire industry. Additionally, Continental’s tire production facility in Lousado, Portugal, was honored for its CO2-neutral production, making the company the only one to secure two awards at this year’s event.
The company received the ‘Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing’ award for its leading role in eco-friendly manufacturing practices. These awards were presented at the Tire Technology Expo in Hanover on March 4, a key event for the global tire industry.
Edwin Goudswaard, Head of Research and Development at Continental Tires, expressed his pride in the company’s dual recognition, emphasizing how these awards reflect the company’s strong commitment to sustainable tire development and manufacturing. He noted that such success in a competitive field underscores Continental’s innovation and leadership in shaping the tire industry’s future.
The competition for ‘Tire Manufacturer of the Year’ was fierce, with contenders from the USA, Italy, and France. Continental’s victory marks the fourth time the company has received this honor, having previously won in 2022.
The 27-member jury of independent experts praised Continental’s ongoing progress in sustainability, particularly pointing to key initiatives like the use of recycled PET bottles at its production facilities, the expansion of its Rayong plant in Thailand to meet energy efficiency standards, and the ISCC-PLUS sustainability certification of its Lousado, Puchóv, and Hefei plants.
Continental’s dedication to sustainability was further acknowledged with a top ranking in the ‘Environmental Achievement of the Year – Tire Design’ category for the 2024 UltraContact NXT tire. The company also highlighted its achievement at the Lousado plant, where it began CO2-neutral tire production in 2024. This process involves using a fully electric steam boiler powered by solar energy and renewable electricity, a significant departure from the traditional reliance on natural gas to generate steam for vulcanization.
The Lousado plant, one of Continental’s largest with a production capacity of 18 million tires annually, is a key part of the company’s strategy to transition all its tire manufacturing plants to carbon-neutral production by 2040.