United States. Continental Tire recently opened its Continental Retreading Solutions Development Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, with a focus on retreading process improvements and technology development.
The goal, says Continental, is to bring "innovation and up-to-date retreading processes to Continental's retreading solution partners and the fleets they serve."
The center has retreading technologies aimed at improving the main challenges faced by retreading in the market, such as constant hands-on training from miles away, tracking and managing carcasses, retreading efficiency, and supporting mega fleet companies.
"This center provides us with a unique opportunity to continue to advance the retreading side of our business," says Shaun Uys, vice president of U.S. truck tires. "Not only will we be able to continue to improve our process, but we will also be able to now provide our partners at Continental Retread Solutions with hands-on training miles away."
According to John Cox, head of retreaded truck tires in America, one of the main concerns fleets tend to have with retreading is that there is a chance that the original tire carcass will be mixed with other carcasses and therefore customer retreading will not take place. in the original housing.
To avoid this, Continental's new retreading center is testing a machine that can track the carcass throughout the retreading process by scanning the sidewall. Using RFID technology, the machine will display the tire's ID (essentially, the tire's birth certificate) and ensure that the carcass is automatically tracked throughout the retreading process.
After the shop scans the tire, the RFID technology will communicate with all other retreaded machines to indicate the model, size, and tread of the tire. From there, the machines are automated to those specifications and ensure the right carcass gets the tread you need.
This can also help keep track of the tire's life, Cox says. As the carcass goes through several lifetimes, the retread owner can see how the tread and carcass wear down over time.
