Conti building motorcycle tire plant in Thailand

Rayong, Thailand – Continental has started the construction of a motorcycle tire factory “in the immediate vicinity” of its recently-opened passenger car tire plant in Rayong, the company announced 15 July.

The German tire maker is planning to invest €26 million in the unit “over the next few years”, expecting to create 100 jobs at full capacity.

Set for operation in 2021, the plant will initially focus on radial tires and will later expand to manufacture bias-ply/cross-ply models.

Continental declined to reveal the capacity of the new plant when contacted by ERJ.

In addition to the Thai plant, Continental said its Korbach location in central Germany would continue to focus on the development and production of premium bike tires, accompanied by “a further substantial increase in capacity.”

The release did not further elaborate on the expansion project in the German factory.

The investment in Thailand, said Conit, is driven by “the ongoing dynamic demand” for motorcycle tires in Europe, the US and the growth markets of Asia and South America.

The new capacity will target demand in new markets, explained Martin Burdorf, head of sales and marketing motorcycle tires at Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH in Korbach.

“Production operations in Rayong will neither replace any existing plants nor stand in the way of their expansion,” he concluded.