SLOVAKIA: Continental investing at Puchov plant

”Despite the currently challenging economic situation in Europe, we see a considerable increased demand for our truck and bus tire business in the mid-term,” comments Dr. Andreas Esser, Head of the Business Unit Commercial Vehicle Tires at Continental. “With the exploration especially of the growth markets in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa we foresee further potential in the years to come. In order to accommodate this rising demand in the near future, we have to expand and upgrade our largest production plant in EMEA further,” he adds. The exact timing of the stepwise capacity increase and corresponding invest will depend on the market development and its influence on the customers’ demand for truck and bus tires.

Puchov, which is Continental’s largest production site for truck and bus tires in EMEA, will not only see an increase in manufacturing capacity, but also extensive upgrades to machinery and infrastructure in order to achieve maximum production efficiency. “In order to sustain a technology leader position and provide our customers with best-in-class products, we are constantly optimizing our processes and production techniques. In addition, Puchov will be the first plant to produce our new Generation 3 bus tires. By this investment, we will increase our agility to follow the market demands,” remarks Thierry Wipff, Head of Manufacturing Commercial Vehicle Tires at Continental.

Since the beginning of this year, the company has already announced expansion plans for its operations in Mount Vernon (USA) worth more than USD 95 million (approximately EUR 70 million).

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)