Continental AG

We understand and respect the interests of our stakeholders. Our stakeholders are our customers and shareholders, our employees, the community, our partners, and our suppliers. We work closely with stakeholders across a broad front, delivering customer benefits, creating shareholder value, and building a working environment that inspires excellence. Integrity and respect are at the heart of all our actions. We are always honest and fair with our stakeholders. We keep our promises. Continental designs and begins to manufacture a pneumatic tire for the automobile, a significant technical accomplishment. Continental pursues strategic acquisitions, beginning with the purchase of the European tire factories of Uniroyal. With the purchase of General Tire, Continental transforms itself into a major international producer; the firm's name is shortened to Continental Aktiengesellschaft. The operations of Industrial Products are reorganized under the brand name ContiTech. Company spends $570 million to purchase a controlling interest in DaimlerChrysler's Temic auto-electronics business. Long established as the leading tire producer in Germany, Continental AG attained international prominence through a series of major acquisitions in Europe and in the United States starting in 1979. By 1991 Continental was the fourth largest tire producer in the world. After weathering considerable economic pressures in the early 1990s, the company began making significant strides to secure a competitive position in the more lucrative arena of auto components. One of its most significant acquisitions came in 2001 when it bought a controlling interest in DaimlerChrysler's Temic auto-electronics business. The Continental-Caoutchouc und Gutta-Percha Compagnie (Continental) was established in Hanover in 1871, and the city remained the center of the firm's operations. It was by no means the first German rubber company; several small firms had been active in Hanover in the previous decade. Continental was promoted by a group of financiers and industrialists with established interests in the rubber business. The initial capital was 900,000 marks. The firm's product range consisted of waterproofed fabrics, footwear, and solid tires, but soon a general line of industrial rubber goods, medical supplies, and sundry consumer goods, such as balls and toys, was added. During the 1870s Continental developed slowly; dividends were first paid in 1875 when additional capital was raised. In the following decade, however, the firm became highly prosperous and dividends increased from 7 percent of nominal ordinary share values in 1880 to a constant 27 percent between 1884 and 1892. An expanding demand for industrial rubber goods was accompanied by the introduction of cushion tires under a patent from the British firm Macintosh. More significantly, in 1892 Continental commenced the manufacture of pneumatic tires for bicycles to cater to the growing interest in cycling. Although less innovative than Dunlop or Michelin, in the 1890s Continental was the first German producer of pneumatic tires. The 1890s proved more profitable than the previous decade. Continental's gross profit rose from 485,821 marks in 1891 to 1.8 million marks by 1898, and dividends were 55 percent annually between 1896 and 1898. The firm's capitalization was increased in 1897, doubled again two years later, and totaled 3 million marks by 1901. The workforce expanded from 600 to 2,200 between 1893 and 1903. This growth was primarily domestic and was supported by the development of agencies throughout Germany. Continental's leading position was suggested by its 65 percent share of a market-sharing agreement for cycle tires with Hannoverische Gummi-Kamm in 1894. The establishment of a German factory by Dunlop in 1892, however, provided a potent rival. The next phase was the development of the automobile tire business. During the late 19th century the prominence of German engineers in the early car in