German corporation Continental has marked the grand opening of its Greenfield Tyre Plant in Rayong, Thailand, on March 27, 2019, with important delegates and around 500 guests.
Dr. Somchai Harnhirun, Thai Deputy Minister of Industry, Nikolai Setzer, Member of the Executive Board of Continental, Continental management, the local project team and employees, as well as suppliers, dealers and representatives of academic institutions gathered on site to celebrate this important milestone, where operations begun exactly on schedule, only two years after the groundbreaking ceremony.
The new tyre plant – a 250-million-euro investment in Thailand – is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to produce about four million passenger and light truck premium tyres annually for Thailand and the entirety of Asia Pacific by 2022.
Nikolai Setzer, Member of the Executive Board and Head of Tyre Division has said: “The investment in Rayong is an integral part of Continental’s Tyre Division growth strategy , ‘Vision 2025’ which improves the balance of our global tyre manufacturing footprint, strengthens production capacities for Asia Pacific, and enables the company to better serve customers in the region; this extraordinary achievement was possible through the excellent collaboration with the Thai Government, local institutions and our dedicated team who demonstrated once again our core value Passion-to-win – a foundation for common success, writing together history in the Thai automotive industry.
Dr. Somchai Harnhirun, Deputy Minister of Industry of the Kingdom of Thailand has then added: “It is an honor to be present at Continental’s opening ceremony for their first tyre plant in Thailand. This new tyre manufacturing facility completes the local automotive industry landscape, strengthens the local economy in Rayong, and will create hundreds of new jobs in Thailand.”
Sirivan Koo-Amphorn, the General Manager of Continental’s Thai Sales organisation has highlighted that the new local production facility will enable faster and closer market organisation for delivering ‘Made in Thailand’ high quality premium tyres to customers. Continental is bringing over 140 years of tire manufacturing know-how and advanced production technologies to Thailand. The Rayong Greenfield Tyre Plant is built with top energy efficiency standards of the global tyre manufacturing network and machines are equipped with technology for sustainable production processes. Higher automation of logistics and handling processes will ensure an ergonomic work environment for future employees. The plant is the seventh Greenfield manufacturing facility since the first in 1998, and it expands Continental Tyre Division’s global production footprint to 20 plants in 17 countries in 2019.