Conti inaugurates production at Brazil plant

Hanover, Germany- Continental AG has begun production at its $183 million passenger car tyre plant in Bahia, Brazil, where production is earmarked for export to North America.

Conti disclosed the event in its fiscal 2005 financial results, but it did not provide further details.

Conti announced in March 2004 plans to build the plant, in Camacari in Brazil's Bahia state, as part of a $305 million global expansion of capacity. That plan called for adding capacity for 7 million car tyres and 700 000 truck tyres over four years.

Conti will increase capacity for medium radial truck tyres at the plant in the next two years, according to the 2004 investment plan.

The expansion plan was tied to a strategy divulged at that time to increase the firm's market share in North America by up to 2 percentage points, including boosting its original equipment market share by nearly a third.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)