Continental starts work on motorcycle tyre plant in Thailand
The Continental team celebrating the laying of the new plant’s foundation stone included future plant manager Meuangsong Nattorn (6th from left); Harald Bornmann, head of supply chain management, Korbach (7th from left); and Edwin Goudswaard, head of manufacturing (5th from right)
The foundation stone for a new Continental motorcycle tyre factory in Thailand was laid yesterday. The facility in Rayong province will be built alongside the Continental passenger car tyre plant that entered service in March.
Continental will invest approximately 26 million euros in the project over the coming years and expects the new plant to be completed in 2021. It will employ 100 new workers and initially manufacture radial motorcycle tyres, with cross-ply models joining the production portfolio at a later date. Output from the factory will exclusively satisfy demand in new markets.
According to Martin Burdorf, head of motorcycle tyre sales and marketing for Continental in Germany, the new plant in Thailand will “neither replace existing locations nor hinder their expansion.” Continental comments that “continuing unabated demand for Continental motorcycle tyres in Europe, the USA, and in the growth markets of Asia and South America makes a significant expansion of production capacity necessary.”
Burdorf adds that we can also expect a “further significant capacity expansion” at the Continental motorcycle tyre plant in Korbach, Germany. “The focus in Korbach will continue to be on the development and production of premium tyres,” he adds.
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