Transportation Industry Bands Together to Support Firefighters, 9/11 Remembrance Project

DETROIT, Aug. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation prepares to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks next month, some of the largest corporations in trucking and transportation have banded together to support a unique memorial effort for firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Today, Continental Tire the Americas, LLC's Commercial Vehicle Tire group ("Continental"), Detroit Diesel Corporation ("Detroit), Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products ("Alcoa") and Snider Fleet Solutions announced a cooperative sponsorship of the Remembrance Rescue Project. This non-profit firefighter support organization has restored the only two surviving heavy rescue trucks to respond to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. On Sept. 11, 2001, the entire unit of nine firefighters with the Fire Department, City of New York (FDNY) Rescue 4 unit and 11 firefighters with the Rescue 5 unit lost their lives trying to save others at the World Trade Center complex. The Remembrance Rescue Project acquired Rescue 4 after its removal from service and completely restored it in September 2011. It now operates from Texas. The Project acquired the last of the surviving FDNY rescues, Rescue 5, in December 2011 and operates it from Chicago.

The Remembrance Rescue Project's volunteers are all firefighters who arrange events and travel the country with the restored engines, which serve as memorials to the fallen and help raise funds for family support. The Project's vehicles appear at public events, auto shows, fire industry events and schools to promote fire education and support other firefighter charities. The rescues have appeared at sporting events such as the Capital One^SM Bowl and races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Under the sponsorship announced today:

Continental is continuing to provide replacement truck tires for the Remembrance Rescue Project. Continental began the sponsorship in 2012 and has provided sets of HTC1 steer and HDR2 drive tires for the rescues. Due to the Project's touring schedule, the new tires are needed to ensure safe operation of the trucks over long distances. "It is our honor to continue providing truck tires for the Remembrance Rescue Project in support of firefighters everywhere, as well as to remember those who gave their lives in the September 11 attacks," said Alex Chmiel, head of marketing and communications for Continental truck tires, the Americas.

Detroit, the manufacturer of the original Series 60 engines in the Project's two rescue trucks, is providing a multi-year donation of engine maintenance funds for the Project. The Project will be able to access funds for all of the routine engine maintenance to keep up with the demands of the appearance schedule. "We are extremely pleased to announce our sponsorship of these unique pieces of American history with the Remembrance Rescue Project," said Brad Williamson, manager, engine and component marketing for Daimler Trucks North America. "Detroit products stand the test of time, and we are proud that our Series 60 engines will support the important mission of these firefighters."

Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products is joining the sponsorship by providing new heavy duty forged aluminum wheels with their patented Dura-Bright® surface treatment. The addition of the new wheels reduces the amount of maintenance needed for the Project and offers a needed replacement for the aging wheels of the rescue engines. Matt Brest, director of marketing for Alcoa Commercial Vehicle Wheels, explained, "It was extremely important to us to donate new wheels to these rescue engines. While our products are in use on heavy duty and emergency vehicles throughout the world, we are especially proud that this set will be used to restore the Remembrance Rescue Project engines to look as they did while in active service on 9/11."

Snider Fleet Solutions, headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., has also joined the sponsorship by offering installation of the new Alcoa wheels as well as mounting and balancing of the new Continental truck tires. An authorized Continental truck tire dealer, Snider Fleet Solutions will perform the service at its Charlotte commercial truck center in October. "Our certified technicians are honored that we are trusted to work on this incredibly special vehicle, and we as a company are honored that we can help commemorate firefighters across the country through the Remembrance Rescue Project," said John Snider, CEO of Snider Fleet Solutions.

To commemorate the kickoff of the sponsorship, Detroit employees will be able to see the Project's Rescue 5 during a special visit to the Detroit headquarters in Redford, Mich. today. Later this week, Aug. 22-24, the Project's Rescue 4 will be on display at the Great American Truck Show in Dallas in the show's Pride and Polish area. In September, Rescue 5 is slated to visit the Daimler Trucks North America headquarters and the Continental Tire the Americas headquarters, both in Fort Mill, S.C., and will also appear at the Charlotte Firefighters 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Challenge along with other local events.

"We would like to thank Continental, Detroit, Alcoa and Snider Fleet Solutions for their support of the Remembrance Rescue Project. It takes a significant effort to keep our rescue engines on the road, but as firefighters, we volunteer our time and vacations to ensure that people nationwide have the chance to see these vehicles in person. It is great to know that these companies support our mission and are helping us to honor firefighters everywhere, including those who died in service on 9/11," said Chris Gantz, volunteer head of the Remembrance Rescue Project.

For more information, a schedule of upcoming events or to donate to the Remembrance Rescue Project, visit http://remembrance.co or follow them on Twitter at @therrp.

About Continental
With sales of EUR 32.7 billion in 2012, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires, and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently has almost 175,000 employees in 46 countries. As one of the world's leading tire manufacturers, with more than 42,000 employees, the Tire division achieved sales of EUR 9.7 billion in 2012. Today, the division has 22 production and development locations worldwide. The broad product range and continuous investments in R&D make a major contribution to cost-effective and ecologically efficient mobility. The Commercial Vehicle Tire business is one of the largest manufacturers of truck, bus and commercial specialty tires worldwide. Continental can be found on Twitter at @contitrucktires

About Detroit Diesel Corporation
Detroit offers a complete line of heavy-duty diesel engines, axles and transmissions for the commercial transportation industry in both the on-highway and vocational markets. Detroit™ engines, axles and transmissions are sold and serviced through a network of more than 800 locations throughout North America. For more information, or to locate the nearest Detroit location, visit www.DemandDetroit.com. Detroit™ is a brand of Detroit Diesel Corporation, a Daimler company.

About Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products
Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, serves the commercial vehicle, automotive, and defense markets with products used in a range of applications including forged aluminum wheels, premium products such as Dura-Bright®, Dura-Flange®, LvL ONE® and M-Series™ medium duty truck wheels, as well as a variety of other aluminum components for these markets. AWTP is composed of three divisions: Commercial Vehicle Wheels, Forged Specialty Wheels and Transportation Products.  It employs 1,500 people at 13 locations worldwide.  More information can be found at www.alcoawheels.com.  Follow @AlcoaWheels on Twitter at twitter.com/AlcoaWheels.

About Snider Fleet Solutions
Snider Fleet Solutions is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina and operates 38 branch locations in 8 states. Our branch locations inventory a complete line of high-quality commercial truck tires from companies recognized as industry leaders and celebrated for their superior performance standards.  In addition, we stock used truck tires and wheels, retreads, and tires for a wide variety of graders, Bobcats, loaders, backhoes, forklifts, and other specialty equipment. In addition to new and used tires, and retreads, Snider Fleet Solutions offers a comprehensive range of services to help keep your fleet in top-notch condition on the road.

CTA Commercial Vehicle Tires Media Site: www.ContiMedia-CVT.com
Continental Truck Tires Web Site: www.continental-truck.com

SOURCE Continental Tire the Americas, LLC