Continental opens new tire plant in Mississippi

Continental, technology company and manufacturer of premium tires, celebrated what it describes as “a major milestone” for its new tire plant near Clinton, Mississippi, with a grand opening ceremony last week.

The celebration marks the completion of the construction process, which began in 2016. Approximately 300 guests, including state and local officials, along with community members, customers, and suppliers as well as 250 Continental employees joined the event.

The new plant is located on a 1,000-acre greenfield site in Clinton, close to Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, United States.

Continental expects to employ 2,500 people when the plant reaches full capacity in the next decade. The plant will produce large truck and bus tires for the US market.

Production is set to begin in early 2020.

Christian Koetz, member of Continental’s executive board and head of the tire division, says: “The completion of our new tire plant signifies a major step in our global long-term growth strategy ‘Vision 2025’ for Continental Tires.

“Mississippi is a critical part of this strategy, providing the best options for us to enhance the tire business in the Americas region.

“We plan to grow here together with our amazing team in Clinton and we appreciate the strong support we have received from all stakeholders involved.”

Continental is a manufacturer of premium tires, including commercial vehicle tires and has seen customer demand in the segment growing globally in the past decade, both in new truck and bus tires, as well as tire retreads.

This growth led the company to establish further production capacity in the USA with its new Clinton, Mississippi plant.

Paul Williams, executive vice president, commercial vehicle tires, the Americas, says: “This is Continental’s first new plant dedicated to truck tires in the world.

“We have seen tremendous growth in this area of our business and the addition of this production facility will help us continue to satisfy customer orders.

“The state of Mississippi, Hinds County and the City of Clinton have been outstanding partners to help us create this facility, which will provide excellent jobs for the years and decades to come.”

Main picture, from left: Peggy Calhoun, President of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors; Michael Egner, Continental Clinton Plant Manager; Jason Wallace, Continental Tire Clinton Plant employee; Philip Gunn, Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives; Phil Bryant, Governor of Mississippi; Tate Reeves, Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi; Travis Chambliss, Continental Tire Clinton Plant employee; Paul Williams, Continental Executive Vice President of Commercial Vehicle Tires in the Americas; Christian Koetz, Continental Executive Board Member