Conti360° Fleet Services and Bandvulc Key Partners merge

Continental Tyres has announced its Conti360° Fleet Services network will merge with Bandvulc Key Partners fleet services under a new unified 360° brand, to improve aftercare services across the UK.

Continental Tyre Group acquired Bandvulc in July 2016 in a deal which included Bandvulc’s leading UK fleet management service, Bandvulc Plus+ and its truck tyre retread business. The acquisition strengthened Continental Tyre Group’s position in the UK and Irish market and established Bandvulc as a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental UK Group Holdings.

In the two years since the acquisition, both the Conti360° Fleet Services network and the Bandvulc Plus+ fleet services have continued to run in parallel, with customers continuing to receive services from both brands. 

The brands will now unite as Conti360° Fleet Services, with Bandvulc’s Key Partners joining Continental’s current Conti360° Fleet Services. By the end of 2018, the merged network expects to have processed over 750,000 calls and attended to over 325,000 breakdowns with 1,500 service vans.

The 360° Fleet Services network will continue to offer full service for truck fleets in the UK, helping customers achieve lowest overall driving costs through correct tyre fitting, monitoring and reporting, fast breakdown response, and correct and efficient handling of worn tyres.

Continental announced the merger at its Conti360° Conference in Donnington Park. Mat Wilkinson, commercial director at Continental Tyres, said: “The change to a one-brand service network is the next logical step for both brands, following Continental’s 2016 acquisition of Bandvulc. It will bring customers together to form one service network, for a simple, unified approach to fleet management.

“This smooth transition to one platform is testament to the ongoing strength of the relationship Conti has always enjoyed with Bandvulc in over 25 years of business together.”

Based in Ivybridge, Bandvulc has over 40 years of experience in hot retread and casing management, and offers high quality retreads in both ContiRe and Bandvulc brands. Arthur Gregg, managing director at Bandvulc, said: “The Conti360° network is the leading network of its kind across the UK. By bringing the Continental and Bandvulc team together, we can continue to offer the best level of service to our fleets and stay well ahead of the competition.”

The Conti360° Fleet Services package is designed to ensure operators get the most out of their businesses, with a range of services including ContiFitmentService, ContiFleetCheck, ContiBreakdownService, ContiCasingManagement  and ContiFleetReporting.