Business Feature, Earthmoving News

ContiTech restructure providing customers with more benefits

A recent restructure is helping ContiTech operations become even more customer-centric, allowing the company to showcase more of its wide range of products to customers

Continental may be more than 150 years old, but the company is still moving with the times – and a recent restructure within ContiTech has the potential to provide clients with even more choice and benefits.

Perhaps best known as one of the globe’s top tyre manufacturers, Continental was first established in Germany in 1871.

Today it is a leading heavy-duty industry manufacturer, boasting a wide range of products across the earthmoving, construction, mining and manufacturing sectors.

Continental supplies high quality hydraulic hoses for the earthmoving industry.

The company’s crimp fittings also provide maximum coupling retention through extensive design and impulse testing.

In addition, Continental and its partners are able to provide first-fit and replacement solutions through various methods, with hose assembly kits, hydraulic workshop equipment and portable crimp solutions.

ContiTech, under the Continental umbrella, is a world leader in industrial rubber and plastic products, with expertise in hydraulic hose manufacturing and fluid conveyance.

ContiTech’s head of sales and distribution for Australia and New Zealand, Lee Cranswick, says a recent restructure of the company’s “world class” portfolio has better positioned the company to meet client needs.

“Within the ContiTech business, we’ve had one of our largest restructures that I’ve been a part of within Continental,” Cranswick explains.

“We’ve actually split sectioned our business into distribution and then CES, which is customer engineered solutions.”

The distribution business focuses on supporting ContiTech’s distributors.

The CES business is focused on end users and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

He says the changes have had a hugely positive impact for both ContiTech’s customers and staff, helping make ContiTech operations more customer-centric, and allowing the company to showcase more of its wide range of products to customers.

“The way we’ve restructured our business it is now putting us in front of our customers with more products and more opportunities.

“It’s been an exciting 10 months – that’s definitely the case for our business,” Cranswick adds.

Cranswick was recently promoted to ContiTech’s head of distribution for Australia and New Zealand.

“Part of that responsibility is the distribution of conveyor belts and it’s a really different business in terms of what I’ve been used to in the past.

“It’s been fantastic, again, it’s talking to existing clients that I may not have had the chance to talk with in the past, and then talking to them on the other opportunities and products that they could actually source from us,” he says.

“When you’re on site working with a conveyor belt, there’s definitely opportunities to see other products that we do, like power transmission, industrial and hydraulic hoses too.

“So again, you get back to customer-centric actions and processes that we use a lot in our business… We’re not just selling conveyor or hydraulics to people, we’re selling the Continental branded solution.

“It’s been a new way we’re doing business, it’s also been exciting talking to clients about the complete package.

Continental supplies high quality products for sites across Australia and further afield

The ability to provide clients with such a wide range of options and services makes ContiTech and Continental stand out from the crowd.

“It’s a wide range – we do everything from distribution to condition monitoring and services,” Cranswick explains.

“We have guys that literally go out to site and provide a service in terms of splicing a conveyor belt on a mine site to reduce the downtime of a mine site.

“We all know if you get down time on a mine site, it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour. So we offer that service where guys are on site,” he says.

Continental and ContiTech have access to a wide range of products that can help provide a customer with what they need for work on site.

“We also supply power transmission through distribution, as well as industrial hose and fittings, hydraulic hose and fittings, air springs, sheet, rubber – both cured and non-cured – steel cord conveyor belt, textile conveyor belt and all the consumables that go with conveyors.

“Our existing clients, who may have only been looking at industrial hoses or hydraulic hose and fittings – they may have an opportunity through a relationship to sell other products within our portfolio” he adds.

“We’re opening up the opportunities for existing and potential clients.”

Cranswick also highlights how the restructuring of the business has led to a learning curve for current staff members, and resulted in a more knowledgeable sales team.

“Previously, we may have just sold hoses and fittings or air springs,” he explains.

“Now due to the exposure of the broad range of products that we do, our sales guys have had to adapt and learn how to sell a product like a conveyor belt. The training provided by subject matter experts within our business has been very beneficial.”

“It’s been a real educational process the last 10 months and the team are doing a fantastic job, providing knowledge and know how, and as always making sure that our customers are at forefront of our mind.”

With the restructure in the rearview mirror and already starting to pay dividends, Cranswick says ContiTech is looking to the future.

“We want to be the first choice in material driven solutions for our customers – that’s the key takeaway.

“It’s been a big change, but we’re still doing quality products, we’re still looking after our customers with quality service.

“So, while we’ve had a big change internally, we’re still doing the basics right with our clients and trying to grow their business with our products,” he says.

For more information, visit www.continental-industry.com.

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