Two Wins for Continental at this Year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence

Hanover, Germany, March 22, 2023. Continental has won “Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing” and "Tire of the Year" at the prestigious Tire Technology International (TTI) Awards for Innovation and Excellence. The ‘invisible markers in tires’ project from Continental beat rival initiatives in the “Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing” category for its contribution to greater traceability in the natural rubber supply chain. The Continental PremiumContact 7 won “Tire of the Year”, having resolved the tradeoff between mileage and rolling resistance to deliver a tire that is sustainability-focused and offers unparalleled driving safety.

“Our commitment to performance, sustainability and safety runs right across our organization, and it’s fantastic that once again, this has been recognized,” said Dr. Boris Mergell, Head of Research & Development at Continental Tires, who accepted the awards during the ceremony at the Tire Technology Expo in Hanover, Germany. He added: “Winning awards for both our innovative technologies and products is a tremendous motivation for the entire team. At Continental, we aim for safe, cost-effective and more sustainable mobility, while enabling vehicles to perform at their best."

Commenting on Continental’s success in the Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing award, Matt Ross, editor-in-chief at Tire Technology International said: “In a closely fought category, Continental's development of invisible markers to increase the traceability of natural rubber really impressed the judges. This technology showcases Continental’s commitment to not only improving the sustainability of its tires, but to being part of a global supply chain that holds itself accountable to the highest levels of environmental awareness.“

Ross also went on to comment on Continental’s success in the "Tire of the Year" category: "It's no surprise that this award was a tough one to call, but Continental's seventh generation of the PremiumContact tire builds upon the strengths of its predecessors, with jurors impressed by the high levels of technological innovation on display, and by the focus on passenger comfort and safety."

Together with Security Matters (SMX), an innovative tech platform specializing in giving all materials a memory with digital tracking using unalterable chemical-based barcode, Continental has developed a special marker technology for use in natural rubber. It aims at creating greater transparency along the entire value chain of tires and technical rubber products in the future. Provided with special security features, the use of the marker substances enables the invisible marking of natural rubber with information on its origin. With the aid of special reading devices and specially developed software, the information on the natural rubber can be read out.

With the PremiumContact 7, Continental is delivering the seventh generation of its successful premium tire. For the new generation, developers focused specifically on the most important customer requirement of maximum safety. The introduction of leading technologies such as a size-specific design, an innovative compound for the tread named RedChili and an adaptive tread design has set new standards in safety and comfort, for a wide range of vehicle concepts including EVs. The first independent press tests have already confirmed the exceptional performance of Continental's newest flagship product: The British trade magazine Auto Express and the online magazine "Tyre Reviews" named the PremiumContact 7 the test winner in its summer tire test. Germany's Auto Bild awarded it an "exemplary" rating.

The TTI Awards for Innovation and Excellence are considered the most important awards in the tire industry and recognize the latest developments and advances in tire technology from around the world. The awards are judged by an international jury of more than 20 journalists and leading experts from the tire industry, and were presented at the Tire Technology Expo 2023, which is taking place in Hanover, Germany, from March 21 to 23.