Jobs Now Available for Continental Tire Plant in Sumter, South Carolina

SUMTER, S.C., July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA) today announced that the first job postings for its new plant in Sumter are posted online and applications are being accepted. Altogether, CTA will invest more than $500 million into the Sumter plant and create about 1,600 new jobs when the plant is completed and production is in full swing.

Continental has partnered with readySC and Central Carolina Technical College to assist with recruiting and training interested candidates. Current job postings can be viewed at readySC.org/conti.  Industrial Maintenance Technician and salaried positions, such as engineering and management positions, are currently posted on the site. Interested candidates must submit an application online. CTA will begin to accept online applications for Production Operator positions in late summer. 

"We are making good progress on the construction of our plant," said Craig Baartman, Sumter Plant project manager.  "Now it's time to fill some of the first of these well-paying jobs with excellent benefits."

CTA is proud to provide, overall, 1,700 new jobs in South Carolina in the coming years. Approximately 80 of these new jobs are part of the expansion of CTA's Headquarters located in Lancaster County.

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.

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.
• The new site comprises approximately 330 acres in total and a 1 million-square-foot production facility.

Continental Tire the Americas has continued to hire employees during the economic downturn. Since January 2008, CTA has created more than 2,500 new jobs in the Americas region. Some 625 of these new positions were created in the U.S., particularly in the Mount Vernon, Illinois plant. To keep up with business growth, CTA announced the hiring of more than 400 employees at the Mount Vernon plant in May 2011. Continental Corporation hired 30,000 new employees globally in 2010 and 2011.

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 million (EUR 2 billion) globally in 2012.

For the latest information on hiring for the Continental Tire Sumter Plant, visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ContinentalTireSumterPlant. 

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 Corporation