Continental Tire the Americas held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new plant in Sumter, South Carolina today.
Attended by state and local governmental officials, the ceremony marked the beginning of the construction process, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
By early 2014, the plant will manufacture passenger and light truck tires to meet the increasing demand for Continental and General brand tires from both aftermarket business and automotive manufacturers.
The first phase of the plant will reach a production capacity of approximately five million units per year in 2017. A second phase is expected to bring the plant's full production capacity to approximately eight million units per year by 2021. Altogether, CTA will invest more than $500 million into the Sumter plant and create about 1,600 new jobs.
"Today's groundbreaking ceremony for our new Sumter plant is a celebration of collaboration," said Jochen Etzel, CEO of Continental Tire the Americas.
"This project would not have been possible without the support of the state of South Carolina and Governor Nikki Haley. I would like to offer our sincere thanks to Governor Haley, the state of South Carolina, the Port Authority, Sumter County and the city of Sumter."
"It's a great day in South Carolina when we break ground on a new facility for a world-class company like Continental. This is progress and we continue to celebrate that Continental Tire has chosen South Carolina for this $500 million investment that, along with the expansion of their Lancaster County headquarters will create 1,700 new jobs in our state," said Governor Haley.
With the Sumter investment, CTA will have invested more than $1 billion in manufacturing and product development in the US, Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil since 2006. Aside from the US, Continental is currently expanding production capacity also in Russia, China and Europe to better serve global demand on a long-term basis.
