Since March 2025, autonomous mobile robots have handled in-plant tyre transport at Continental’s ContiLifeCycle facility in Hanover-Stöcken. “Transport robots are a valuable addition to our daily operations and help create a safe, efficient and ergonomically optimised production environment,” said Felix Hantelmann, Head of the ContiLifeCycle plant. Hantelmann added that the deployment supports the company’s transition towards Industry 4.0. Robotic solutions are already in use across Continental tyre plants worldwide.
Retreading Process Improvement
At Continental’s ContiLifeCycle (CLC) retreading plant for truck and bus tyres in Hanover-Stöcken, seven autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have been keeping things moving since March 2025. Their job: transporting green tyres around the plant, freeing up employees for more skilled tasks such as machine setup and quality control. By successfully integrating smart automation, Continental is making manual production processes more ergonomic while further boosting efficiency in tyre manufacturing – a key step toward future-ready Industry 4.0.
“Self-driving robots have been supporting our production workflow for six months now,” said Felix Hantelmann, Head of the ContiLifeCycle plant. “They handle simple, repetitive transport tasks such as moving a tyre from one point to another. The robots are directly connected to our digital order system, so they know exactly where to go and how to coordinate with each other to get there. They are a valuable addition to our daily operations and help create a safe, efficient and ergonomically optimised production environment.”
More time for quality: autonomous robots streamline tyre production
The robots navigate independently and safely through the production hall using advanced sensors, 360-degree camera systems and AI-based control technology. At speeds of up to two metres per second – roughly the pace of a brisk walk – they transport tyres between stations in the retreading process: from the tyre-building machine to the curing presses and on to quality control.
The new hot-retreading workflow is as follows:
- A handling robot transfers the buffed tyre carcass to the tyre-building machine, where, depending on tyre size, it is fitted with up to 18 kilograms of fresh rubber heated to about 100°C for the tread and sidewalls.
- Once the tread and sidewall have been applied, the handling robot places the tyre on a transport trolley. An autonomous mobile robot, connected to the digital order system, then moves the trolley to either the curing press or an intermediate storage area, depending on capacity.
- In the curing press, the roughly 75-kilogramme tyre is vulcanised at 160°C, giving it its final shape and tread pattern. It is then transferred via a conveyor belt to the quality control department.
The advantages of mobile transport robots are clear: “Our employees no longer have to carry tyres across the hall, which means less physical strain for them. Instead, they can focus on more demanding tasks like machine operation and quality control,” says Hantelmann. Before the robots were introduced, employees transported tyres manually using cranes and trolleys that weighed up to 250 kilogrammes when loaded with two tyres. This required multiple manual steps and trips between stations.
Technology with team spirit: employees helping to drive change
Continental supported the rollout with a comprehensive training programme, which helped to boost acceptance among the workforce. Employees were even involved in choosing the robots’ names like Cargo Knight, Rubber Ranger and LifeCycle Commander. Six months later, the robots are an integral part of the team.
The use of autonomous mobile robots is a prime example of how Continental is leveraging digitalisation and automation to make tyre production more efficient and sustainable. And the success speaks for itself: similar solutions have been introduced at other Continental tyre plants worldwide. Other locations include Mount Vernon and Clinton in North America, Púchov and Otrokovice in Europe, and Hefei and Rayong in Asia.
In the UK, for example, its dedicated retreading plant, ContiLifeCycle in Ivybridge, Devon, has been pioneering sustainable tyre production and recycling since initially opening its doors in 2016. At this flagship facility, the introduction of the Automated Build Cell (ABC) has already delivered significant efficiency gains across the plant, similar to the benefits experienced at the Hanover-Stöcken site.
The process here uses state-of-the-art extrusion technology to precisely apply the new compound to both the tread and the sidewall of the prepared casing. The tyre is then cured in the press, completing the retread process. Impressively, the design and installation of the ABC robot were carried out entirely in-house by the engineering team at Ivybridge, showcasing the depth of technical expertise at the facility.
Tony Mailling, Head of Hot Retread Production EMEA at Continental Tyres and Plant Manager of ContiLifeCycle Ivybridge, explains: “Designing and installing the ABC robot entirely in-house has been a real achievement for our team. It not only visibly improves efficiency on the shop floor, but it also enhances consistency in production and demonstrates the strong expertise and innovative spirit we have at our facility.”
Recognising the importance of retread awareness, Continental has recently launched its impactful ‘Respect for Retreads’ campaign, designed to challenge outdated perceptions associated with remanufactured rubber.
More than one million retreaded tyres from the ContiLifeCycle plant in Hanover
The CLC Stocken plant has been retreading worn truck and bus tyres since 2013. The used tyres are first thoroughly inspected and stripped of their old tread. They then receive a new tread, are vulcanised to give them a new profile and finally undergo quality and safety checks. This process allows up to 70 per cent of the original tyre to be reused. The result is a product that matches a new tyre in terms of safety and performance – while using significantly fewer resources. Since the plant in Hanover opened, Continental has retreaded more than one million tyres there. Including other retreading plants worldwide, the company has produced around eight million retreaded truck and bus tyres.
