Conti, Marangoni end Americas tread rubber pact

ERJ staff report (TB)

Fort Mills, South Carolina -- Continental A.G. and Marangoni S.p.A. have ended their agreement covering the use of the “ContiTread” trademark in the Americas, and Marangoni will no longer produce ContiTread tread rubber for sale in the Americas.

The decision, announced jointly by both companies, allows Conti and Marangoni to pursue their own goals in the region.

Marangoni Tread North America Inc. has produced spliceless ring-style tread rubber for Conti under the ContiTread name since early 2009. At that time, the companies marketed the product in the US and Canada through Marangoni's 27 licensees.

Conti marketed the product separately in Mexico through its own dealer network.

The offtake manufacturing deal was to have run through 2013, the companies said in the past.

Earlier this year, however, Conti debuted a comprehensive retreading program for North America, called ContiLifeCycle,using “conventional” proprietary ContiTread precured tread rubber manufactured at a Conti plant in Mexico.

At the time, in March, Conti said its program would run in addition to the license agreement for Conti-branded precured ringtreads with Marangoni.

Conti did not comment at this time on whether it will seek to continue to offer a ring-type tread rubber from another source.

For the most part, this move does not affect the business cooperation between Continental and Marangoni in other parts of the world, the companies said in their joint announcement.

In Europe, for example, Marangoni produces and distributes under license tread rubber using Continental tread patterns and bearing the name ContiTread.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)