Continental starts up new tyre plant in Rayong
Continental yesterday held a grand opening ceremony for its greenfield plant in Rayong , which could produce up to 4 million tyres for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles between now and 2022.
The German tyremaker invested 250 million euros in the new facility with construction taking two years. It will create as much as 900 new jobs by 2022, said Nikolai Seltzer, a member of the executive board of Continental and head of tyre division. Start of production at the new plant took place on March 14.
The plant will supply to the OEM and replacement markets in Thailand as well as in the Asia Pacific region.
“This investment is an essential part of a long-term growth strategy of Continental’s tyre division, called “Vision 2025”, aimed at expanding and balancing its global manufacturing footprint to best serve its customers in all regions,” Seltzer said.
“The investment in Thailand is another major step in realising our ambitious growth plan by further improving the balance of our global manufacturing footprint and enhancing our position as one of the leading tyre manufacturers worldwide.”
Seltzer noted that one important pillar of Continental’s long-term strategy is to operate with an agile and flexible set-up that enables the company to react fast to market requirements, establish further production capacities in the Asia Pacific growth region and to strongly support its Asia Pacific growth plans with high-tech production capabilities.
Sirivan Koo-Amphorn, managing director of Continental Tyres (Thailand) Co Ltd, added: “The German corporation is bringing over 140 years of tyre manufacturing know-how as well as advanced production technologies to Thailand. Having a production facility in Thailand will enable our market organisation to be faster and closer to our customers, delivering high-quality premium ‘Made in Thailand’ tyres”.
