Continental ups Timisoara investment

Having invested over 271 million Euro in its Timisoara plant to date, German tire producer Continental said it is undergoing a 50 million Euro expansion project, to improve the technological flow and ensure complete autonomy of the production facility.

November 2012 - From the Print Edition

"The Timisoara plant ranks third out of 19 tire production facilities Continental operates at a worldwide level and with this investment we want to consolidate this position and possibly go even higher," said Continental Tires Timisoara general manager Pedro Carreira, adding that, by the end of the year, the total investment in the Timisoara facility is estimated to reach 300 million Euro.
The Timisoara tire production facility is Continental's first greenfield investment. The plant went operational back in 2000 and has, to date, produced over 100 million tires, 90 per cent of which were exported, said the general manager.
It is not the only functional Continental unit in Romania. With a total investment exceeding 575 million Euro at the end of 2011, Continental operates eight production units in Romania, in five locations (Timisoara, Sibiu, Carei, Arad, Brasov and Iasi), employing a total of 10,500 people. The German giant also cooperates with Pirelli in a joint venture in Slatina and in a tire distribution center for Eastern Europe in Sacalaz, Timis county.
Continental received its Environmental Authorization in 2010, investing a further million Euro in keeping emissions resulting from the production process in line with EU environmental requirements.
With sales of 30.5 billion Euro in 2011, Continental ranks 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, the firm currently has approximately 170,000 employees in 46 countries.