Continental opens 22nd plant in China

Instrument clusters for national and international markets will be developed and produced in the new plant in Wuhu. 

Continental, the global automotive supplier, tyre producer and industry partner, has announced the opening of its second plant in Wuhu – Continental Automotive Interior (Wuhu) Co – a new addition to its current manufacturing facility in Anhui province, China. With an initial investment of 33 million euros (Rs 253 crore) for land and building, the new plant will be fully operational in the first quarter of 2015, and play a significant role in meeting the increasing demand from both local and global markets. Dr. Ralf Cramer, Member of the Executive Board of Continental, President and CEO of Continental China said: “The new plant is our 22ndmanufacturing location in China, which is a vital part of our growth strategy that reflects our goal to be ‘in the market for the market.’ Our investment in this new plant is a decisive step that not only strengthens our business in China but also demonstrates our strong confidence in and commitment to our local customers and business partners.”   

“We are excited about continually expanding our investment in the Chinese market, and confident in achieving significant growth here,” said Eelco Spoelder, executive vice-president and head of Instrumentation and Driver HMI Business Unit of Continental (pictured above during the oepning ceremony). “The new plant will accelerate our development to a higher level by introducing new technologies and enhancing our product portfolio, which will streamline the manufacturing process, improve quality and react faster to the market requirements.” The new plant is located in the Wuhu Economy and Technology Development Zone, a distance of 10km from the existing plant. The new facility with a total land of 120,000 square metres and an initial floor space of 46,000 square metres will include production operations, R&D centre, laboratory and warehousing, which will focus on the business of instrumentation and Driver HMI (Human Machine Interface). By end of 2015, around 1,500 employees will be working in the new plant including around 215 R&D engineers. And 42 production lines in total will be installed by end of 2015. Established in 1995, the first plant, Continental Automotive Wuhu Co, is one of Continental China’s first manufacturing plants and remains a very important production base for Continental, serving 150 customers in 60 locations across China and exports to 66 customers in 23 countries worldwide. It produces key products for the Interior and Powertrain divisions, including instrument clusters, fuel pump modules and actuators. “Thanks to the support from the Wuhu government, the construction of the second plant has been completed within just around 12 months. The technical facilities are excellent and in addition to production, the new site also covers an R&D facility. Leveraging our global know-how, it will definitely enhance our local R&D capabilities for our local and global customers. The new plant also underlines our efforts to explore the booming Chinese market for sustainable growth in the future,” said David Revill, plant manager of Continental Automotive Wuhu Co.