Continental Tire the Americas and the state of Mississippi have officially reached an agreement that allows the tiremaker to purchase a site in Hinds County, Miss., for its “commercial vehicle tire” plant.
Nikolai Setzer, executive board member for Conti’s tire business, said the new facility is part of Conti’s global growth strategy and a step toward growing the tiremaker’s commercial vehicle tire business in North America. Conti added that customer demand for its new truck tires, bus tires, and retreads is growing beyond the company’s existing capacity.
The facility will be built on 1,000 acres in Hinds County, just west of the state capital of Jackson, along Interstate 20. Site development will begin in 2016 and construction is planned for 2018, Conti said.
The tiremaker said it will invest approximately $1.4 billion into the project and employ 2,500 people when the plant reaches full capacity in about 10 years.
Depending on market demands, the company expects to break ground in the next several months and begin production of commercial vehicle tires at the end of 2019.
In the last five years, Conti has invested more than $1.5 billion into growing its business in the U.S. – investing a portion of those dollars into the expansion of its Mt. Vernon, Ill., tire plant and the construction and expansion of its Sumter, S.C., facility. Conti has also expanded production capacity in Russia, China and Europe.
