05/06/2010 Fort Mill, South Carolina, May 6, 2010. After an accelerated (18-month) engineering, development, and testing program, the industrial tires business unit of Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (“Continental”) has added an entirely new product to its portfolio. The ContiRT20 Performance, a premium pneumatic radial industrial tire, is designed with special features that reduce punctures, flats and heat buildup. Continental unveiled this tire in size 12.00 R 20 at bauma, the construction machines and equipment expo in Munich, Germany on April 19.

The new ContiRT20 Performance meets extremely high requirements of longer life expectancy, less downtime and greater stability, said Martin Burdorf, director of Continental’s industrial tires business unit – The Americas. Many companies that handle lumber, block, brick, pipe and steel are willing to pay a premium to switch from bias-ply tires to Continental’s industrial radials— particularly for their larger forklifts. But while Continental industrial radials consistently satisfy these demands for fewer flats and longer, cooler operation, market conditions now demand that industrial tires provide even greater puncture resistance, increased lateral stability and greater potential for retreading.  The ContiRT20 Performance meets all of these demands and has been engineered to achieve up to 30 percent greater life expectancy than its predecessors, Burdorf said.

“In just looking at the tread pattern design, you can see that the ContiRT20 Performance provides excellent traction characteristics. It’s also been designed to wear evenly with an overall stronger carcass. But to satisfy our customers, this tire makes absolutely no compromises in stationary stability for heavy loads or protection against stone trapping, which can damage the tire and cause premature removal,” Burdorf said.

Heavier-duty tread blocks, wide, flat-belt construction, reinforced steel beads, stiffened, more impact-resistant sidewalls, and a wider, abrasion-resistant tread are just some of the impressive design features of the ContiRT20 Performance. The tread depth of this tire was increased to the maximum to ensure the longest possible service life, even under arduous conditions. The tread pattern design, featuring wide grooves, provides reliable traction on both surfaced and unsurfaced ground.

Continental also designed this tire to meet environmental requirements, with an advanced low rolling resistance tread compound, which reduces energy and fuel consumption. The tire’s strength and high performance reserves will also allow for longer lifetimes and greater retreadability, which reduce waste from premature replacement of tires.

Since September 2008 the new product has undergone scrutiny according to the full set of tire testing rules, including comparing the tire's performance against its competitors, said Burdorf. Continental’s developers and testing engineers took into account the heavy stress that industrial tires endure under various conditions including wood, steel and cement industries; shipyards, logistic centers, airport and seaport operations; and indoor and outdoor applications.

“We literally subjected hundreds of ContiRT20 Performance radial tires to extensive, real-world testing against our competitors’ tires, at multiple end-user locations around the world including ports, lumber yards, concrete pipe yards, and paper mills,” said Phil Lannon, U.S. sales manager for Continental’s industrial tire business unit. “After these extensive tests against the competition, we truly believe that the ContiRT20 Performance is the best industrial radial tire available today, hands down.”

This tire line is available in 13 sizes with Speed Index A5 (25 km/h - 16 mph).  Production began in April and further sizes may be introduced as the market demands, the company said. The ContiRT20 Performance can be installed with either a tube and flap, or with Continental’s TSR (Tubeless Sealing Ring) which guards against rapid deflation in the event of a tread or sidewall puncture.

Sizes as a standard aspect ratio tire:

6.00 R 9 121 A5 TL

6.50 R 10 18 A5 TL

7.00 R 12 136 A5 TL

8.25 R 15 153 A5 TL

10.00 R 20 166 A5 TL

12.00 R 20 176 A5 TL

Sizes as a low aspect ratio tire:

180/70 R 8 125 A5 TL

225/75 R 10 142 A5 TL

250/75 R 12 152 A5  TL (production starts in May 2010)

225/75 R 15 149 A5 TL

250/70 R 15 153 A5 TL

315/70 R 15 165 A5 T TL

355/65 R 15