Continental opens expansion at US headquarters

Hanover, Germany – Continental Tire the Americas has opened a new headquarter facility in Fort Mill, South Carolina, where its 350 employees will be based.

In a 22 March statement, the German manufacturer said it had made a "significant investment" in the new three-story, 90,000-square-foot building, which sits on 33 acres in northern Lancaster County.

“Sustainably designed”, the new headquarters building also has room for further expansion.

Continental moved its US headquarters from Charlotte, North Carolina to Lancaster, South Carolina in 2009.

Since then, the company has invested over $800 million (€740 million) in its facilities across the state, according to Jochen Etzel, CEO Continental Tire the Americas.

“The US is a strategic growth market for Continental and particularly for our tire business,” said the Continental leader.

The new facility, constructed “steps away” from the existing building, offers collaborative spaces of various sizes, as well as “numerous quiet areas for focused work”.

Describing it "more than the typical office building,” Etzel said new HQ aims to create a workplace where employees “want to come to”, rather than “have to come to”.

The building also has environmental design aligned with energy and environmental design (LEED) gold certification, according to Continental.

In addition to the use of “energy-saving and efficient materials”, the design of the building is in line with sustainability standards for water savings, energy efficiency, and indoor environmental quality.