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Continental Tyres, alongside its leading retread rubber brand, Bandvulc, has joined forces with environmental product promoters, EcoDriven, to support its UK-wide Sustainability Showcase tour
Continental, Bandvulc and EcoDriven Sustainability Tour UK
The year-long programme of activity aims to champion sustainable solutions and encourage members of the public to consider the environmental impact of their actions. A classic double-decker bus has been retrofitted with sustainable materials to demonstrate their effectiveness throughout its journey.
As part of the project, EcoDriven’s bus has been adorned with the innovative new Citymaster 5 retread tyre from Bandvulc. Engineered with reliability, durability and safety at its core, the Citymaster 5 features extra sidewall reinforcement – perfect protection for the bus as it navigates the busy urban streets of more than 20 towns and cities across the UK.
The tyre features a dimple indicator, moulded into the sidewall rubber in three places. This allows operators and technicians to easily see when a tyre has been ‘scrubbed’ enough to begin compromising its performance and should be considered for a change. Citymaster 5 also sports a high polymer rubber compound, which has been designed to resist punctures and withstand the punishment of start-stop use.
To help ensure the bus’s tyres remain in peak condition throughout the tour, Continental has fitted its ContiPressureCheck tyre pressure monitoring system to the vehicle. An in-cab display will provide the driver with real-time tyre pressure and temperature information, alerting them to a possible puncture or damaged tyre.
Pete Robb, Marketing Director at Continental Tyres, said; “Across our business, we strive to deliver sustainable innovation. This ranges from our Bandvulc commercial vehicle retreads, which can save around 30kg of rubber, 20kg of steel and 68 litres of oil compared to a new tyre, through to our new UltraContact NTX car tyre that uses up to 65% recycled and renewable materials in its construction. It’s for this reason that we’re proud to be working with the EcoDriven team as they embark on their UK tour. We look forward to following their progress and trust that both the tyres and ContiPressureCheck system will help the team to achieve their project.”
John Patterson, Managing Director of EcoDriven, added; “Partnering up with Continental and their Bandvulc brand has been a real eye-opener. When we started our mission to showcase our sustainable materials and how we use them, we never realised how much progress had been made in rubber tyre recycling. Visiting the factory in Ivybridge truly demonstrated why innovation is crucial in achieving sustainability.
“Continental and Bandvulc embody an entire ecosystem of sustainability in all operational areas – something all companies should strive for. I couldn’t be more excited to have them as a partner in every stage of EcoDriven’s UK tour.”
Continental is aiming to be the most progressive tyre company with regard to environmental and social responsibility. In the commercial vehicle sector, Continental continues to work closely with its customers to maximise tyre life and fuel economy through correct maintenance and by using digital monitoring solutions, such as ContiPressureCheck. Its range of low-rolling resistance tyres also helps operators to reduce their overall fuel consumption.
By investing heavily in retread tyre manufacturing, Continental through its ContiLifeCycle programme is extending the useful life of suitable tyre casings and reducing the amount of raw materials needed to produce a ready-to-fit tyre. The Ivybridge facility operates a ‘zero to landfill policy’, with all waste recycled or incinerated. Buffing dust, an unused by-product of the retreading process, is used in a variety of applications, such as in playground matting, equestrian arenas and in athletic equipment.
