Continental Tire the Americas’ Commercial Vehicle Tire business unit announced that it has submitted two retread tire products for verification as low rolling-resistance technologies under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership’s new performance standards.
Continental’s HDL Eco Plus ContiTread drive and HTL Eco Plus ContiTread trailer retreads were presented to the EPA Technology Assessment Center in December 2011 and were submitted for official verification on Tuesday, June 12, the same date as the announcement of the performance requirements for retreads on Class 8 line-haul trucks, says Roger Stansbie, Continental’s director of radial truck tire technologies, the Americas.
“Because of the adoption of these standards by the SmartWay Transport Partnership, the importance of manufacturing retreaded truck tires that perform just as well as the new products has been brought to the forefront of fleet owners and professional drivers across the U.S,” says Paul Williams, executive vice president for truck tire, the Americas. “Continental’s ContiTreads have always been made with the same standards and tread patterns as our new tires. Our submission of these ContiTread products for verification by SmartWay – as soon as the standards were published – is a testimonial to how committed Continental is to helping fleets lower their overall driving costs over the entire life of their tires.”
According to the new standards provided by the EPA Technology Assessment Center, verified low rolling-resistance products, when used on line-haul Class 8 trucks, will provide reductions in fuel consumption of at least 3 percent compared to the most popular retread products now in use.
