CLEVELAND – ContiTech’s Power Transmission Products Group has unveiled a special logo to commemorate 111 years of production expertise with drive-belts.
    
“From the very beginning, we have had a major hand in the evolution of drive belts to complex high-tech products,” said Konrad Mueller, general manager of the ContiTech Power Transmission Group. “Our innovations address today’s burning challenges, and a seal designed specifically for this anniversary year draws the attention of the industry and the general public to our long years of experience.”
    
In 1899, Continental AG, the holding company of ContiTech, registered its trademark – for drive belts, among other products. Production initially began with industrial belts, but soon afterward, the company offered the first motorcycle V-belts, which were locked into an endless loop at the time.
    
Prior to WWI, cars in the U.S. began switching from gas lamps to electric lights, making it necessary to find a way to transmit the power of the generator with as little loss as possible. The endless V-belt was born. A few years later, the product was ready for volume production and, by 1927; there were already 36 sizes for all of the most common vehicle models. Only three years later, the developers applied for patents on toothed (cogged) rubber V-belts.
    
In 1961, ContiTech produced the first camshaft drive timing belts for cars. They were made of polyurethane with embedded steel tensile members. In 1966, the company experimented with rubber timing belts for the first time. It marked the debut of the heavy-duty CONTI SYNCHROBELT timing belt.
    
Today, ContiTech remains a trailblazer as the company’s CONTI-V PIONEER represents the world’s first eco-friendly V-belt for industrial applications. The belt also is the first of its kind made primarily of renewable raw materials, according to the company.