2. When Meike Schmidt-zum Berge goes to work, she is busy on at least
four different continents without ever leaving her desk. A qualified graduate
in process engineering, she is responsible for a new Continental tyre lines
specifically tailored to suit the demands of customers in South America,
Australia and the various countries in Asia. Working with an international
team made up of Continental staff from China, the USA, Brazil, Malaysia and
the Research & Development Centre in Hanover, she is responsible for the
CLASA Project –
„Continental Line for Asia & South America“.
Potholes and monsoon:
different regions,
different conditions
Potholes and monsoon
So weather-related differences are not the only factors
that play a role in tyre development, there are many other
parameters. Continental engineers, so-called tyre scouts,
are sent out to the respective countries to research custo-
mer requirements and the conditions on-site before plan-
ning starts. They speak the language of the country and
have very good personal links to the tyre dealers there.
But what is the point of designing an entirely new tyre
line? Can the existing tyre models not simply be modi-
fied? „Unfortunately it‘s not quite that straightforward“
according to Meike Schmidt-zum Berge. „If we compa-
re the Central European climate in Germany or France
with the humid sub-tropical weather found in Malaysia,
Indonesia or the Australian desert, we end up with en-
tirely different requirements. These start with the rainy
season (monsoon), for example, and go right through to
the approved maximum speeds, the road conditions and
the driving habits of our customers in these countries.“
3. On-site research and Continental
tyre scouts
Continental‘s tyre scouts form the ‚vanguard‘ of the tyre
developers and research the road conditions, as well as
the buying and driving habits in the respective region.
Equipped with digital camera, GPS device and questi-
onnaires they then meticulously evaluate and analyse the
road surfaces characteristic for the country. This means
that the research involved has to be as accurate and ca-
reful as possible, because even slight differences in the
road surface are vitally important for the tyre‘s running
characteristics. Concrete carriageway surfacing, applied
as slabs to the road, is very widespread in Asia‘s urban
regions. Lateral grooves are designed to prevent rain wa-
ter from accumulating.
Road surface in Dali, Yunnan province, South China
Road surface in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand
Road surface in the Curibita region, Brazil
Dirt track in Sabah province, northern Malaysia
The on-site tyre dealers have also proved to be a most
valuable source of information; this is where the custo-
mer first comes into contact with the new product, which
is why the tyre scouts questioned the existing network of
Continental dealers in the Asia-Pacific region and Aust-
ralia extensively. Kee-Seng Choong, Sales and Marke-
ting director for the Asian region, explained: „For us high-
ly accurate feedback from the dealers forms the basis for
our new tyre line, because we want to meet the require-
ments and demands of our customers one hundred per
cent. In Asia the quality of a tyre is strongly associated
with its appearance.“ In South America requirements are
very different. Here very high mileage performance, stur-
dy design and low tyre wear are what counts.
The junctions between the slabs in particular often con-
stitute a challenge to the comfort characteristics offered
by a tyre. German motorists are only too familiar with this
type of ‚slab design‘ from older motorways. Other ‚roads‘
include gravel tracks, hardened clay surfaces, turf tracks
and coarse asphalt, sometimes with huge (and dange-
rous) potholes. In China‘s industrialised regions one can
often find tracks with very different grades of asphalt.
Just like with sandpaper, the Continental engineers have
to distinguish very clearly between the different grades,
such as coarse, fine, medium-fine, etc.
The climatic conditions in the different regions are cru-
cial for the CLASA Project. They determine the ratio of
the ingredients used in the composition of the rubber
compound and what kind of tyre tread pattern to choo-
se. Meteorological data, such as humidity, average ye-
arly temperatures and precipitation figures influence the
durability and the driving characteristics of a tyre in dai-
ly use. Flooding is also a frequent occurrence in tropi-
cal countries - gravel tracks and even surfaced asphalt
roads without adequate drainage can turn into beds of
mud in an instant.
4. Ruaidhri Gleeson,
Group Leader Tyre Line
Development Asia at Continental
Down under –
Australia
Australia‘s highways Corrugated track
(suspension vibrations)
Australia and Asia
With over 913,000 kilomet-
res (567,000 miles) of roads
this continent has several
thousand more kilometres
than Germany with its exten-
sive road network. As a com-
parison: China has a road
network covering 1,931,000
kms (1,199,900 miles) whilst
the USA has over 6,430,000
kms (3,995,500 miles). What
is decisive for the tyre devel-
opers at Continental is, how-
ever, not the length, but purely the surface of the roads. In
Australia, for example, only around one-third of all roads
are asphalted, whilst in Germany over 99% are. What
one has to bear in mind in terms of Australia‘s enormous
size, though, is that it also has three different climate zo-
nes. Gareth Taylor, Continental Marketing Manager for
Australia, comments: „We‘ve got everything here from
subtropical temperatures and high humidity through to
bone-dry desert. Tyres have to go to the limit, especially
in the outback where asphalt roads turn into corrugated
tracks and gravel roads.“ Another important factor in tyre
development is the type of vehicles used in the respective
area. Lower to medium range cars dominate in Australia,
although SUVs and pickups are gaining market shares.
Currently these two types of vehicle account for approx.
35% of the entire fleet of vehicles in Australia. Unlike in
Asian countries such as Thailand, overloading, insuffici-
ent tyre pressure and an over-aggressive driving style are
not an issue in Australia. Ruaidhri Gleeson, Group Leader
Tire Line Development Asia at Continental: „Although
there‘s heavy traffic in Australian towns, the driving style
is very different here - less hectic and much more relaxed.
Also, people place great value on having the right tyre
pressure, high comfort and low wear.“ The vastness of
Australia means this approach makes sense, because
long distances are the rule here, rather than the excep-
tion.
Continental‘s newly-developed tyre line is not aimed just at customers
in Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia, Australia is also a target
market.
5. Thailand, Indonesia
and Malaysia
Communal taxi in Thailand –
putting enormous load on the tyres
Raising livestock, agriculture, farming, industry, tourism -
these are all crucial factors when it comes to developing
a tyre that will be bought by everyone from the rice far-
mer to the self-employed shop owner in the city. A further
challenge is the often very ‚generous‘ interpretation of the
maximum permitted gross weight. Ruaidhri Gleeson on
this topic: „Overloading pickups and small vans is stan-
dard practice in rural areas of Thailand, Indonesia and the
Philippines. The springs get reinforced and the tyre pres-
sure increased - the communal taxis which are highly po-
pular with the locals in Thailand are a very good example.
But the real problem – when it comes to heavy loads - is
the overloading of the pickups. They sometimes have to
carry 3-4 tons whlie made only for 1,5 tons.“
What about the customers themselves - do Malaysian or
Chinese motorists differ from Central Europeans? Meike
Schmidt-zum Berge: „The heavy traffic in the cities and
the rather poor country roads and motorways in these
regions make it somewhat easier for us as developers -
high-speed tyres are not required here. The telling sales
arguments are a very sturdy sidewall, low noise level, plus
an attractive tyre design.“ A further comment from Glee-
son: „Particularly in Asia, the tyre‘s looks are very impor-
tant.“ In Thailand, for example, the tyre tread pattern is
seen as a strong inducement to buy, as is the tyre tread
width. If the tread pattern does not extend right to the
outermost edges of the tyre, this is associated with insuf-
ficient load capacity on MPVs and pickups. Schmidt-zum
Berge: „We had to revise our approach here and of course
adapt to our customers‘ requirements, because the tread
width of a tyre has nothing to do with the load capacity.“
But even the driving style in daily traffic is incorporated
into tyre development. Whereas in Germany drivers go to
great lengths to avoid hitting the kerb at an acute angle
during turning manoeuvres, in Thailand and China, for ex-
ample, this is standard practice in the often hectic town
traffic. On this subject Gleeson says: „We would refer to it
as a very robust driving style.“
‚Trend reports‘ are compiled on the basis of all this data;
these cover as many different regions and provinces of
a country as possible and indicate the average require-
ments to Continental‘s tyre developers.
The geographic and economic circumstances of the respective country
are equally important. A mountain track in central China or at the very
edge of Thailand are no exception for the country‘s inhabitants; they are
the rule on their way to work each morning.
6. Project sequence –
24 hour engineering at Continental
1. Mrs. Schmidt-zum Berge, can you give us some idea
of your daily workflow on the CLASA Project? Do you
have a schedule, a project plan, and what would this
be? Please tell us about a typical stage in your work
(meetings, etc.) ?
We have to draw up a precise timetable for the entire
team, depending on when sales of the tyre or tyre line are
to start. This date, i.e. the point at which the finished tyre
will be available to our customers, determines our further
project planning. The planning covers tasks and duties
for each team member. Meetings and discussions are
held at fixed intervals, for example, and we use these to
talk about the status quo and deliver reports. The biggest
challenge in this context is keeping track of everything.
With a project as complex as CLASA, there are lots of
imponderabilities - do we know enough about a country
like Brazil to embark on the design? Are there enough
raw materials available at the respective production site?
When do we start marketing activities in the countries?
Do we use a common name for the tyre and is this name
already protected, etc.
2. How often are you in touch with your team members
in the USA, Brazil, China and Malaysia?
That depends on whether there are any unresolved issues
or whether decisions have to be made. In the ‚hot‘ pha-
se we have weekly conference calls. There are, though,
stages in the course of the project when no contact is ne-
cessary. Particularly at the start of the project, when the
tyre requirements have to be defined, that‘s when team
members have to regularly exchange information, so that
everyone knows who is doing what. Then we meet up
again after a while and look at our results.
3. How do you manage with the different time zones? Is
this a big problem or does it have advantages?
Working on different continents has benefits and draw-
backs. When we arrive here in the office in Hanover at
08:00 a.m., our colleagues in Asia are already enjoying
their afternoon tea. The team in South America is fast
asleep, because it‘s 03:00 a.m. there - and in the USA
(Charlotte), it‘s 02:00 a.m. in the morning. Then of course
there‘s the time difference of twelve hours between the-
se two teams (Asia and America). That makes it very dif-
Interview: 24 hour engineering
An interview with
Meike Schmidt-zum Berge,
Project Leader Tire Line Development Asia
7. ficult to organise a meeting with all the team members.
Our status meetings are always held between midday
and 02:00 p.m. our time, which is of course very early
for the Americans (06:00 a.m.) and rather late for Asia
(06:00 p.m.).
A major advantage of 24 hour engineering‘ is the time we
‚gain‘ - our colleagues in Asia are always half a day ahead
of us and have long since resolved all the issues from the
previous day by the time we get in to the office.
4. An international team working on a major project –
have there been difficulties in terms of communicating
with one another?
Working together on an international project like CLASA
is a major challenge for everyone. You have to be aware of
the differences between the cultures - how they discuss,
how they work and make decisions. And even the actual
linguistic side of it is not always easy, despite the fact that
everyone speaks English, because they all have their own
accent or dialect, and of course the level of vocabulary
and expressions varies from person to person. Which is
why the entire team has to always check that everyone
understands what was meant and ensure that things are
described and discussed as clearly as possible.
5. What do you particularly like about your work?
What never fails to delight me is the combination of tech-
nology, culture and, of course, the process of working
towards producing the finished tyre. This gives me the
ideal opportunity to use my knowledge of process en-
gineering and at the end of this development process,
our customers are able to buy a finished product that has
been developed by myself and my colleagues - it‘s a very
nice feeling.
6. What was the biggest surprise for you when you first
checked out the regions (driving habits, overloading
etc.), compared with Central Europe?
In the course of development we have noticed that even
with a commodity like a tyre you can see very clearly the
varied and different requirements of the respective conti-
nents. Driving style, buying habits, climate - these are all
decisive factors. I was aware that rolling noise was a very
important factor in Asia. What surprised me, switching to
this project from a different development sector, was the
importance of noise and comfort for the Asian region and
also the value placed on the appearance of the tyres and
the way this is associated with their quality.
