Back on its home turf again, this year Continental AG is training the spotlight on all kinds of conveyor belt services for bulk goods and unit loads. The local technology expert has created a special mock-up for HANNOVER MESSE 2018 to demonstrate the latest market trends in belt monitoring and its smart full-service applications to existing and potential customers. Despite measuring only around one square meter, there's no overlooking the star of the show at the Continental stand. Sensors monitor every movement of the belt and the transported material - inspecting the surfaces, reporting fill levels and flagging up any malfunctioning belts in real time. All this data is stored in databases and evaluated using algorithms to calculate when the belt next needs servicing.

"The surveillance systems enable us to monitor the safety-related properties of the belts. At the same time, this technology is paving the way for new business models such as pay-per-ton and predictive maintenance of components and systems," says Jens Koster, who is responsible for business development, financial services and digitization at Continental. Even now, customers can already go beyond buying a belt to compile a complete package of conveyor belts and services. The customer benefits are obvious, as this enables them to outsource system maintenance while improving system availability at the same time.