Continental Tire Names Walbridge/Mashburn General Contractor for New Plant in Sumter, South Carolina

SUMTER, S.C., June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA) today announced it has selected Michigan and South Carolina-based Walbridge/Mashburn as the general contractor for construction of its new tire plant in Sumter, South Carolina. The construction 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.

"We are very pleased to have Walbridge/Mashburn on board to lead the construction of our new plant," said Craig Baartman, Sumter Plant Project Manager.  "The experience of this organization is top notch and we look forward to working with them on this important project."

The joint venture of Walbridge/Mashburn was created to pursue large scale industrial projects throughout South Carolina. Together, Walbridge/Mashburn brings combined strengths in safety practices, project experience, commitment to the local subcontractor base and lean project management techniques.

The first phase of the plant will reach a production capacity of more than four million units per year in 2017. A second phase in this announced project 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.

Initial hiring is already underway and the company expects to hire nearly 60 people in 2012.  In the first phase of production, which is between late 2013 and early 2014, Continental will hire approximately 300 production employees for the Sumter plant. The staffing process and manufacturing training for the first 150 employees will begin in the first quarter of 2013. Continental has partnered with ReadySC's local Technical Colleges to assist with staffing and training interested candidates.

Key facts about the new Sumter plant:

• The construction process for the plant is expected to be finished by the end of 2013.
• Production is expected to start in late 2013 or early 2014.
• In the initial phase stretching out until 2017, more than four million passenger and light truck tires will be produced annually.
• In 2021, when the full production level will be reached, the annual production capacity will increase to up to eight million tires per year.

With the Sumter investment, CTA will have invested more than $1 billion in manufacturing and product development in the U.S., Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil since 2006. Aside from the U.S., Continental is currently expanding production capacity also in Russia, China and Europe to better serve global demand on a long-term basis. Continental Corporation recently announced its intention to invest more than $2.5 billion (EUR 2 billion) globally in 2012.

About Continental Corporation

With sales of EUR 30.5 billion in 2011, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently has approximately 164,000 employees in 46 countries.

Media database: www.mediacenter.continental-corporation.com

SOURCE Continental Tire the Americas, LLC