CTNA Announces $78 Million in New Investments for Mt. Vernon Plant

Continental Tire North America (CTNA) is planning US$78 million in new investments at Mt. Vernon facility. According to Conti, these funds will “significantly expand CTNA’s commercial operations and regionalise the company’s commercial tyre production to better meet market demand in the United States.”

“This is another major investment in our Mt. Vernon facility and one that will allow us to take our commercial operations to a new level,” said CTNA CEO Matthias Schönberg. “The market demand in the US for CTNA’s commercial tyres continues to grow, and this expansion will help us to serve all our customers better, faster and more efficiently.”

The $78 million investment includes state-of-the-art tyre manufacturing and storage equipment for commercial vehicle tyres and more than 150,000 square feet of expanded building space to house this new equipment. Construction on the space and installation of equipment will begin immediately, and the process is expected to be complete by the end of 2008. The expansion will equip Mt. Vernon to serve the majority of the US commercial market. In addition, by producing more commercial tyres in the Mt. Vernon facility, CTNA will free up global capacity in other regions, including Europe and Asia.

“Today’s announcement speaks volumes about CTNA’s commitment to our commercial operations in the U.S.,” said executive vice president of Commercial Vehicle Tires Tom Roydhouse. “Ultimately, we will manufacture 90 per cent of CTNA’s total commercial production for the US right here in our Mt. Vernon facility.” This latest investment announcement comes in addition to the previously announced $70-100 million investment in both the passenger and commercial divisions at Mt. Vernon. More than $84 million of that investment has already been funded, bringing the total current investment in Mt. Vernon to more than $160 million.

“We have made significant investments in Mt. Vernon over the past 18 months because we continue to believe this facility has a very bright future,” Schönberg continued. “There is still a lot of hard work ahead, but because of a strong commitment by employees, we’ve already seen important progress in our ability to be cost competitive here. I am thrilled to once again deliver on CTNA’s commitment and to continue investing in the Mt. Vernon facility.”