Continental Illinois plant to increase production

Continental Tire North America, Inc. (CTNA) has announced more than $60 million in new investments for its Mt. Vernon, Ill., facility over the next three years.

These investments will significantly expand CTNA's Passenger & Light Truck (PLT) tire operations as well as its Commercial Vehicle Tire (CVT) operations. As a result of these investments, CTNA will also add approximately 75 new jobs in Mt. Vernon.

"The Mt. Vernon employees continue to step up to the plate and prove that they are competitive on a global level," says CTNA CEO Matthias Schoenberg. "Today's announcement is another big step forward for CTNA and for the Mt. Vernon facility, and one that will allow us to take our operation to an even higher level. The investment will allow for increased manufacturing flexibility enabling us to adjust to increased market demand for replacement tires, particularly in categories such high-performance and ultra-high performance that provide higher added value to both Continental and its customers."

Of the more than $60 million, more than $40 million will be directed to PLT operations for new machinery and tooling. With this new investment, Mt. Vernon will take production up by thousands of tires every day and increase capacity by approximately 2 million tires per year, Continental reports.

In addition, approximately $20 million will be invested in Mt. Vernon's CVT operations. This investment will provide new and updated machinery and tooling to accommodate additional product brought in from Europe. As a result, Mt. Vernon will make and supply more tires for the Canadian and U.S. markets and continue to own more than 90 percent of CTNA's total CVT production in the U.S.

"CTNA has continued to invest in this facility because our employees here have proven their dedication to successfully meeting the ongoing challenges in our industry," said Hank Eisenga, Vice President of Manufacturing in Mt. Vernon. "Today's announcement is a reflection of CTNA's ongoing commitment to Mt. Vernon and recognition of the superior work being done here by our highly-skilled team."

The investment announced today is in addition to the previously announced $160 million investment in both the PLT and CVT divisions at Mt. Vernon bringing the total investment in Mt. Vernon since 2006 to more than $220 million.

For more information, visit www.continental-corporation.com.