With the calendar page poised to flip to October – the month Continental Tire the Americas’ formal announcement was said to come – rumors are flying across South Carolina that the tiremaker will tag Sumter County as the home for its first all-new U.S. tire plant.
Earlier this year, when CTA announced that it would build a new passenger and light truck/SUV tire plant in the U.S., then-CEO Matthias Schoenberg indicated that locations in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee were under consideration. The fact that both North and South Carolina also made the mix was not a surprise.
Regardless of the location, it will be Continental’s first all-new tire plant in the U.S. Its Mt. Vernon plant was inherited when Continental AG bought General Tire & Rubber Co. in 1987, as were previously closed plants in Charlotte, N.C., and Mayfield, Ky.
Yesterday, both WLTX-TV in Sumter County, located in the mid-state region, and The State newspaper quoted state and local government sources saying that CTA will be building its passenger and light truck/SUV tire plant there.
“The S.C. Commerce Department is working to finalize a deal with Continental Tire that would bring 1,500 jobs to Sumter County, a source close to the negotiations told The State,” the newspaper published yesterday.
The quality of the information in the rumors raises some questions, though.
“Citing anonymous sources, WLTX News19 said Continental could bring up to 2,000 jobs and a $1 billion investment to build a 3 million-square-foot facility in Sumter County, adding an announcement could be made next week,” The State reported.
“Earlier this month, North Carolina newspapers – in Wilmington and Columbus County – reported Continental was looking at sites in that state, along the border of Brunswick and Columbus counties, as well as South Carolina. Louisiana also was mentioned as a possible site,” The State wrote.
“North Carolina has readied economic-development incentives to land the plant. However, state Rep. Dewey L. Hill, a Democrat representing Brunswick and Columbus counties in eastern North Carolina, told The Greenville News recently that North Carolina officials ‘heard late in the game that maybe South Carolina would be the main competitor.’”
Popular news blog FITS said, “Bolstering that contention, sources at the North Carolina Department of Commerce – which was widely-viewed as the frontrunner to land the estimated $400-$500 million capital investment and 3,000-3,500 new jobs – are reportedly in the process of informing Tarheel state officials that their location in Brunswick County lost out to Sumter County.”
Other published statements about the much-rumored “Project Soccer” put the plant investment anywhere between $250 million and $1 billion, and resulting new jobs between 500 and 2,500 people.
If Project Soccer does land in South Carolina, it would be the second significant tire plant addition to the state in the last two months. Just last week, Bridgestone Americas announced plans to invest $1.1 billion in a new radial giant OTR tire plant and further expansion of its Aiken County consumer tire plant.
The state already hosts Michelin North America’s headquarters and five of its plants, as well as CTA’s headquarters.
Separate from all of the plant conjecture, the Charlotte Business Journal reported that CTA was planning to add 10,000 square feet to its 75,000-square-foot offices, and could add another 100 jobs there. The publication speculated that those new positions will be in support of the planned new tire plant.
