Continental Tire Announces Name Change for North and South America Operations

Continental Tire North America has changed its name to Continental Tire the Americas LLC.

The company says the name better reflects the growth of the tire maker’s Passenger and Light Truck and Commercial Vehicle Tire divisions in both North and South America.

One of the key actions in 2009 that led to the decision to modify the name was the acquisition of a leading passenger, light truck and commercial tire company in Latin America, Compania Ecuatoriana del Caucho S.A. (ERCO). The Ecuador-based company gives Continental a significantly improved competitive position in Latin America, through ERCO’s strong distribution network in Ecuador and the Andean region, which includes the countries of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador.

The ERCO Group is a vertically integrated tire business operated out of Ecuador and includes a tire plant in Cuenca, as well associated operations including a rubber plantation, retreading plant, tire import businesses and various retail chains in the Andean region.

The name change takes effect immediately.