A greenfield site near Clinton, Mississippi, is the location of Continental’s latest factory, which will manufacture truck and bus tires for the North American market. Construction began in 2016 on the 1,000-acre site close to Jackson, the state capital. Continental expects production to begin in early 2020 and to employ 2,500 people at the plant when it reaches full capacity in the next decade.
At an opening ceremony, Christian Koetz, member of Continental’s Executive Board and head of the Tire Division, acknowledged the support of local stakeholders and called the new plant, “a major step in our global long-term growth strategy, ‘Vision 2025’. Mississippi provides the best options for us to enhance the tire business in the Americas region”.
The Clinton Plant responds to growing global demand for new truck and bus tires and retreads. It’s Continental’s first new plant dedicated to truck tires worldwide and incorporates an advanced training center to equip its employees for future growth.
“We took our learnings from our best manufacturing locations worldwide and applied them to our new Clinton Plant,” said Paul Williams, executive vice president, Commercial Vehicle Tires, the Americas. “All our facilities allow for maximum flexibility to support the manufacture of products for all our markets worldwide.
“The timing of the decision to build this plant was important so that we can be prepared to respond to market and growth opportunities with increased tire production,” he continued. “Ramp-up to full-capacity production will take several years. Our plan for this new plant is flexible so that we can adapt to market demands. Again, this is a plant built for our future growth, so as our business grows, we will grow capacity accordingly.”
