Continental opens global tyre Solution Center

To support the digitalisation of tyre solutions, production processes and business workflows at Continental Tires around the world, the company has assembled a team of IT and related specialists at a new facility in Portugal. This Solution Center is located near the Continental tyre plant in Lousado and employs around 80 people, with plans already in place to double the workforce by 2026. Christian Kötz, head of Continental’s Tires business formally inaugurated the facility on 20 April 2023.

Cross-functional teams based at the Solution Center will drive forward targeted digitalisation projects. The company has enlisted specialists from the fields of IT, artificial intelligence and applied analytics, e-commerce, and industrial engineering.

“We are working systematically on digital tyre solutions, e-commerce and Industry 4.0 applications,” said Kötz at the opening ceremony. “At the Lousado site, highly skilled employees are supporting our global Tires team with new digital business models and our ecosystem of digital solutions for our premium tyres.”

Pedro Carreira, head of the Continental Tires plant in Lousado and Solution Center board member, added: “Continental once more expands operations at its Lousado site. Our new Solution Center is right next to our state-of-the-art tyre plant. Both will be working in close collaboration. And the nearby universities of Porto and Braga are ideal for the recruitment of highly skilled new employees.”

The Solution Center is located close to the Lousado tyre plant (Photo: Continental)

Benefits already apparent

Continental states that the added value offered by the Solution Center is “already plain to see,” and as an example points to a recent tyre quality control project conducted together with the Applied Analytics & AI department at Continental’s Tires global research and development hub in Germany. The combined team investigated the suitability of artificial intelligence for inspecting freshly manufactured tyres, with the aim of using AI to detect tiny non-compliances that are typically extremely difficult to see with the naked eye. Continental now intends to introduce this new type of AI-assisted tyre quality control at its other tyre factories, and the data gathered also gave the experts handy references to use in their ongoing work to optimise tyre production processes.

Another team from Lousado is supporting the development of new digital fleet solutions and refining existing ones. One example is the ContiConnect tyre management system. This offers digitally assisted tyre monitoring that facilitates simpler, more efficient, and sustainable tyre management. It monitors tyre pressure, temperature, and service life and with this data recommends specific actions. The system achieves this by linking the tyres to sensor systems, telemetry data, algorithms, and the cloud, averting tyre-related breakdowns and failures and simplifying the planning of maintenance and servicing schedules. This not only improves safety and productivity, but also helps cut costs through improved fuel economy. Continental developed parts of the IT infrastructure and the associated apps and web-based user interfaces at the new Solution Center.

Dependable partner

Continental is one of the biggest employers in the region and Portugal’s fourth largest exporter. It produces tyres for passenger vehicles, agricultural machinery, and off-road equipment at the Lousado site. With a history in Portugal dating back more than 30 years, Continental considers itself a “dependable partner that values its history but is also committed to innovation in both tyre manufacturing and automotive technology.”