ContiTech to make hoses, airsprings in China

ERJ staff report (DS)

Hanover, Germany -- ContiTech AG, is building a new production site for rubber goods in the Chinese city of Changshu (Jiangsu Province), 100 kilometers northwest of Shanghai.

By the end of 2009 in an initial construction phase, ContiTech is planning to group the Chinese production locations of the business units Fluid Technology (hoses), Air Spring Systems (air suspension systems) and Vibration Control (engine mounting systems), which are fully owned by ContiTech. Joint ventures will not be relocated. Conti hs earmarked about Euro 30 million for this phase.

In a second phase, the Air Spring Systems and Fluid Technology units are to be expanded and the Power Transmission Group (drive belts) and Elastomer Coatings (diaphragms, printing blankets) will be located at the new facility by 2011. For this, there is a total of 120 000 square meters available on the grounds.

Products will be manufactured primarily for the Chinese market and other Asian markets. Plans are for some 200 employees to be at work at the location by the end of 2009, and in the long term, the workforce will number approximately 1000.

Wu Weiguo, Vice Mayor of the Changshu Municipal Government of the South East Economic Development Zone industrial park, and Gerhard Lerch, chairman of the Executive Board of ContiTech AG, signed a corresponding letter of intent in Hannover.

"For us, China presents a double opportunity: a booming sales market and a low-cost production location. We can take better advantage of these opportunities with the new site," says Gerhard Lerch, explaining the involvement in China. "By 2013, we want to have more than doubled our sales in the country and are targeting annual sales of some Euro 250 million."