John DeSalle has been named president of Hoosier Racing Tire Corporation following the company’s acquisition by Continental. In his new role he will report directly to Dr Jochen Etzel, chief executive officer of Continental Tire the Americas, LLC and Hoosier Racing Tire Corporation.
Germany’s Continental AG has acquired US-based tyre specialist Hoosier Racing Tire for an undisclosed sum. The deal to purchase the formerly privately-owned company was completed on 3 October. The acquisition of Hoosier Racing Tire follows seven years of collaboration with Continental, during which time the two companies worked together on various development and motorsport projects.
Work has begun to expand Continental’s Sumter tyre factory in the USA. The company reports breaking ground on the project, and it is working to a timetable that will see plant production capacity rise from approximately four million units planned for 2016 to around eight million units by 2021. The Sumter workforce will rise in line with this capacity increase, growing from more than 700 (the plant is expected to employ around 800 by the end of this year) to some 1,600 employees. By the time this project is complete, Continental will have invested more than US$500 million into the Sumter plant.
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