Christian von Albrichsfeld, Continental Romania: “We will continue to hire engineers and IT specialists this year”

“2021 was a year with more challenges than ever. We have the sanitary crisis, we have the semiconductors crisis, and in parallel we saw increasing prices for raw materials, gas and electricity,” Christian von Albrichsfeld, Country Head, Continental Romania, told The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“We focus on developing sustainable technologies for the automotive industry. Autonomous driving, connectivity, user experience, safety and motion, smart mobility, and industry 4.0 will drive the business for the following years.

We will achieve these priorities also by continuing the hirings of engineers and IT specialists and many other functions in all our locations. In the past years we grew with over 1000 people in Romania annually and we plan to keep this direction.”

COMMITMENT TO PERFORMANCE | BUSINESS EVOLUTION, PROJECTS, PERFORMANCE, FIGURES  

How would you describe the evolution of your company in 2021?

“2021 was a year with more challenges than ever. We have the sanitary crisis, we have the semiconductors crisis, and in parallel we saw increasing prices for raw materials, gas and electricity. So, a very challenging year. And all these situations where we had to find solutions, to be efficient, to solve challenges with creativity and cleverness and to focus on people, because they are the key to an organic constant evolution.

I would describe 2021 through a comparison with a football player who has the physical skill in which he can slow down, change direction, or accelerate in response to a task-relevant cue such as an opponent or in anticipation of a pass from a teammate, as stated already years ago when referring to agility. We were even more agile and able to react in a volatile uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.

Taking a look back to 2021, a year in which – as known – the global car production remained on the same very low level as back in 2020 (the Corona crisis year) mainly due to the semiconductor crisis, Continental Romania kept investing in its employees and projects for the continuous upcoming R&D and production activities.”

STRATEGY & VISION | RETHINK STRATEGY & PRIORITIES

What challenges have you faced as a CEO/ leader during 2021?

“Agility is the word of this year. We are all talking about a semiconductor crisis, then the coronavirus crisis, and all these in parallel with the huge transformation of the automotive business.

In automotive we knew in advance that the car must become more and more autonomous, that we must find new technologies. For companies that do not adapt, it is a crisis, for others it is an opportunity. The car will become a cell phone on wheels. We have connectivity in the direction of communication, for example the car can communicate with another vehicle and inform it that after 500 m there is ice on the road, and it can warn us or decelerate.

The shift from gasoline engines to electromobility or alternative technologies, while the 100% green electricity is not yet available, is also a topic to be mentioned. 

And these situations overlapped with the coronavirus crisis. From a leader perspective, the health of the employees was the main concern in 2021. Even after the vaccines came up, we still have to take all the measures in order to prevent infections and make the employees feeling that we take care of them.

With the decisions taken in the past months by the Executive Board and Supervisory Board, we have passed a key milestone and are prepared for the transformation, looking ahead to our profitable growth with future technologies. The automotive market will recover once the coronavirus and semiconductor crisis will decrease.”

What priorities and business strategy focus do you have in 2022?

“We focus on developing sustainable technologies for the automotive industry. Autonomous driving, connectivity, user experience, safety and motion, smart mobility, and industry 4.0 will drive the business for the following years.

We will achieve these priorities also by continuing the hirings of engineers and IT specialists and many other functions in all our locations. In the past years we grew with over 1000 people in Romania annually and we plan to keep this direction.

Through the company’s vision – Transformation 2019-2029 – we focus on our areas of development”.

PEOPLE & COMMUNITY | FOCUS ON SAFETY, SOCIAL APPROACH, LEVERAGE THE POWER OF COMMUNITY

“The technology company Continental has been and continues to be involved in projects that bring benefits to the community to which it belongs. In 2021, we went forward with supporting campaigns and actions driven for stopping the pandemics, and contributed, as well, to several health, educational and environmental CSR projects. Together with the employees we conducted with good results various food, clothes and backpacks collections, tree planting campaigns, blood donation days, PCs and laptop donations for facilitating online learning and health related activities, redirection of 3.5% of the income tax, etc.

Over 130,000 euros were donated for projects that create value in all the communities we are belonging to. Part of this money was used for the health sector to renovate and equip medical units and several other related initiatives. Education is a strategic direction for our CSR activities as well, so much has been done also for this sector. The involvement of our colleagues in the “Raising Heartbeat Challenge”, a global CSR mobility action organized by corporate on the occasion of the 150 years anniversary of Continental, facilitated a donation of 30.000 euro for the educational projects of Code for Romania, to name the most novel one. On top, as the pandemic persisted, we continuously offered support to hospitals by providing medical goods and infrastructure; and, moreover, initiated, set up and arranged two vaccination centers in Timișoara and Sibiu.”

KEEN ON GREEN | SUSTAINABLE, GREENER, COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENTALLY-FOCUS

What sustainability and green-driven initiatives & projects did the company run in 2021? Name and describe the most outstanding.

“The Timisoara Tires production unit launched in 2021 the olfactory emissions treatment system, RTO (Regenerative Thermal Oxidation). The investment in the new RTO equipment has been finalized and is now in use. Part of the company’s sustainable development strategy and sustainability policy, Continental Tires Timisoara has invested about €3.3 million in the new olfactory emissions treatment system, which dezintegrates the volatile organic compounds (the molecules responsible for most odors) that appear in the production process of tires, by oxidizing them at high temperature. The system has five burn chambers and the capacity to treat around 120,000 cubic meters of air per hour. This new equipment will replace the system installed in 2015.

After being installed, in the first part of this year, the equipment entered the testing stage. Throughout this period, specialists have performed emission measurements which show that the new system, through its features and high-performance technology, is much more efficient than the previous one.

Sustainability is a strategic direction for our all of our local and global plants, and a topic we take very seriously. This investment is a part of our strategy for durable development, and we continue to focus on people and environmental protection.

Sustainability is an integral part of Continental’s “Vision 2030” strategy for Continental and is rooted in the company’s values. Company’s goal is to be the most progressive company in terms of social and environmental responsibility. Continental continues to promote innovative technologies and sustainable solutions throughout our value chain.”

DIGITAL DNA | GRASPING TECH, DIGITAL INNOVATION, CUSTOMER -DRIVEN, BUILDING NEW BRIDGES

Which were the major directions in your company in 2021 where digital & tech made major difference?

“Our major directions in 2021 concentrated on developing sustainable technologies, services and products for autonomous driving, connectivity, user experience, safety and motion, smart mobility and industry 4.0. To name shortly some projects: AI-based product innovation and process improvements (mainly RPA but also customized neural networks used in specific R&D processes); the first order for a high-performance computer in the Commercial Vehicle Sector has been won by the company; the launch of the new radar sensors for 360 degree coverage with a longer range; the collaboration between Continental and Amazon Web Services for creating a platform for automotive software – Continental Automotive Edge (CAEdge); the Interior Cabin Sensors for sophisticated design and enhanced safety; various digital and tech industry 4.0 solutions in our production centers like usage of Virtual Reality glasses to optimize the shopfloor specific activities; the installation of a new Regenerative Thermal Oxidation System; the successful completion of the ongoing testing volume production of autonomous Automated Guided Vechicles (aAGV); and many more.”

What trends do you anticipate for this year?

“We will continue developing sustainable technologies, services and products for autonomous mobility, safety & motion, user experience, smart mobility, architecture & networking, software & systems excellence, industry 4.0.”

2021 IN 3 KEY WORDS OR MORE

“It was a challenging year, with overlapping crises and smart innovative solutions for overcoming all these situations. We are passing through a transformation, looking to turn challenges into opportunities for becoming even more competitive than before, and are positioned to grow with future technologies.”

2022 IN 3 KEY WORDS OR MORE

“The crises will pass, one after the other, the automotive industry will recover, and so will the economic situation worldwide. And we, at Continental Romania, are looking forward to growing even further than the markets, investing in our employees, projects, and facilities for the continuous upcoming R&D and production activities.”