ContiTech set to break ground on $85m US compounding centre

Mount Pleasant, Iowa – Continental’s industrial and materials arm ContiTech is set to break ground on a previously announced $85 million (€73 million) compounding centre at its Mount Pleasant, Iowa plant.

The groundbreaking will take place 8 April and the event will include an official kick-off and a guided tour of the facility, said ContiTech in a 2 April announcement.

The investment is part of ContiTech’s plan to expand its US manufacturing footprint and will strengthen production across the hose and belt businesses.

The expansion programme includes a new “state-of-the-art” compounding centre, which ContiTech said will “integrate production, warehouse and office operations.”

It will feature advanced mixing lines and an automated warehouse to support growing customer demand across multiple industrial sectors.

“This compounding centre is an important step in creating the capacity and capabilities we need to advance our material expertise,” said ContiTech head Philip Nelles.

With the investment, Nelles said, ContiTech is building “a manufacturing ecosystem that strengthens regional supply chains and supports long term growth across our businesses.”

According to Andreas Gerstenberger, CEO of ContiTech USA and head of Industrial Solutions Americas, the investment will add “some of the most advanced mixers in the country.”

The unit, Gerstenberger said, will play “a central role in ensuring consistent quality and efficiency in the production of rubber-based materials used in hoses, belts and other engineered products.”

ContiTech unveiled plans for the Iowa expansion in October last year.

At the time, it said the investment will include mixers that have been engineered to withstand “high shear forces and temperatures,” enabling “thorough integration of ingredients.”

“The result is a compound with uniform physical and chemical properties, ready for downstream processes such as extrusion, moulding or calendaring,” it said at the time.