Continental to invest $500 million for two-fold increase in Sumter plant's production
Published On 04-Jun-2016
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Continental's Sumter plant[/caption]
Continental Tire's Sumter plant in South Carolina, US, will be seeing an expansion of nearly $500 million that is rumored to increase the production capacity by two-folds by 2021. It is expected to produce 8 million passenger and light truck tyres.
The company said that this expansion was a part of Continental’s original plans for the factory. The expansion is likely to create 800 jobs at the Sumter plant, where the employment number is about to reach 800 before the end of this year.
"This announcement celebrates Continental’s trust in the Sumter facility to continue delivering quality products to our customers," said Continental Tire CEO Jochen Etzel, who acknowledged the "sustained support" of South Carolina Governor Haley, the state of South Carolina, the Ports Authority, Sumter County and the city of Sumter in Continental's growing presence in the state.
The products that come out of the factory include both Continental and General brand tyres for the OE and replacement markets. The contractor for the expansion duties will be Kajima Building & Design Group Inc. of Atlanta, and the construction project is expected to go on for nine months.
The plant will increase by approximately 720,000 square feet after the expansion which will include the new production hall and expanded warehouses for raw materials and produced goods. Presently, the plant covers 1 million square feet, the company states. The finished goods' warehouse will be expanded by one and a half times the original size.
The tyre maker continues to collaborate with readySC and other local technical colleges to assist with staffing and training the interested students and create tailored apprenticeship programs for production and mechatronics positions at the facility.
This investment is in addition to the $1.5 billion the company has committed in past five years for manufacturing, facilities, technology and production development in the US.