Continental Tire the Americas has been selected as a semi-finalist in the job category for the National Development Council’s Academy 2015 Awards for its Sumter, S.C. facility. The award recognizes the top economic and community development projects in the nation as part of the NDC’s biennial conference.
When announcing the plant four years ago, the tiremaker promised the facility would create 1,600 new jobs in Sumter, and Continental would invest more than $500 million by 2021 to complete the greenfield-site. The 1 million square foot facility began production in October 2013 and today employs more than 625 residents of Sumter and the surrounding area, Conti said.
According to the state of South Carolina, the per capita income in Sumter has increased by more than 11% and employment numbers have been cut in half since Continental announced its investment in 2011.