Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 50

INTERVIEW

Christian Kötz, Continental

Rubber soul
In this interview, Christian Kötz, member of the executive board, Tire Division,
at Continental, talks about environmental concerns, the changing retail
landscape and whether there's a future for airless tyres
PRW: Considering the focus of the
Frankfurt motor show, do you think
that EVs have taken over from
autonomous driving in importance?
Christian Kötz: It's not a question of autonomous driving being forgotten, but a
question of what's in the mindset of European people, what is the priority.
People are worried about tyres
degrading, particulates in the air. Is
there anything that can be done about
that?
Friction is needed to absorb energy, so
without friction there's no braking. But
friction with the road creates abrasion.
Is there anything that can be done in
terms of a compound?
It's the remit of the industry to advance
the technology, looking at the next level.
But on the one side we have to provide
maximum safety, balanced with standards
and performance in line with economy
and ecology.

50

WWW.PRW.COM | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019

Are you being pushed by government
regulations to improve performance?
New labelling guidelines have made tyre
performance more visible to the consumer. By doing that you incentivise technological progress. It's a differentiator
between competitors and it drives investment to achieve technical progress.
Legislation does help with driving technical progress. There's legislation on raw
materials, including REACH, which has
meant that some materials have needed
to be replaced. Clearly, there's an incentive to manufacture products which help
to reduce energy consumption.
How has Continental addressed
environmental concerns related to
tyre production and automotive in
general?
Our industry is very capital intensive, very
high investment, so we need a sustainable,
reliable business model. Local production
is part of that. We're convinced that logistics costs will continue to increase. That



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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019

Contents
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - Cover1
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - Cover2
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - Contents
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 4
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 5
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 6
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 7
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 8
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 9
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 10
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 11
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 12
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 13
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 18
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 20
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 21
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 25
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 28
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 29
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 30
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 31
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 38
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 40
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 41
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 42
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 43
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 46
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 47
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 49
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 50
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 51
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 53
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 54
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - Cover3
Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - Cover4
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