South Carolina receives Silver Award in Business Facilities Competition
January 26, 2012
Continental’s $500 million investment expected to create 1,700 new jobs
COLUMBIA, SC – January 26, 2012 – The South Carolina Department ofCommerce earned second place in the Business Facilities 2011 EconomicDevelopment Deal of the Year competition for the Continental Tire theAmericas (CTA) new plant in Sumter County, S.C. The $500 millioninvestment is expected to generate 1,700 new jobs, including 80 new jobsin CTA’s headquarters in Lancaster County, S.C.
“This world-class, $500 million tire manufacturing facility is thelargest industrial investment ever made in Sumter County,” said BusinessFacilities Editor-in-Chief Jack Rogers. “It will be a huge shot in thearm for the growth potential of the entire region.”
The Economic Development Deal of the Year competition was open to anyorganization with an economic development mission limited to a definedcity, state or region. Submissions were scored based on their projectedeconomic impact statistics as well as a narrative describing theproject’s challenges, originality and likely impact on the localcommunity.
The award recipients were announced in December and have appeared in theJanuary issue of Business Facilities. The winners were chosen by ajudging panel of industry experts who reviewed 23 submissions fromacross the U.S.
The Gold Award winner was the Kentucky-Ford Partnership for a $1.2billion investment that uses incentives to spur growth at Ford MotorCo.’s Louisville facilities. The third place prize went to the City ofMesa, Arizona for bringing the First Solar manufacturing facility to theGreater Phoenix area.
Earning the Silver Award for South Carolina, CTA’s investment in Sumteris estimated to have an overall economic impact of $1.82 billion overthe next 10 years.
“Continental is a world-class company, and it is truly exciting thatthey have chosen South Carolina for this new $500 million investmentthat will create 1,700 new jobs. This announcement is a big win for ourstate,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.
“Continental’s investment in this new tire plant would not have beenpossible without the strong support of the state of South Carolina,Governor Haley and Department of Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt,” saidJochen Etzel, CEO of Continental Tire the Americas. “South Carolinaprovides an outstanding business climate and we are pleased to offerthese jobs with competitive pay and benefits for the people of thisgreat state.”
Located on a greenfield site off U.S. Highway 521, the new 1million-square-foot plant will open in early 2014. In the first phase,the facility is expected to reach its production capacity of 5 milliontires per year by 2017. A second phase is projected to increase thecapacity to 8 million units per year by 2021.
The facility will allow CTA to meet growing demand from the retail leveland automotive manufacturers. The company’s business growth isdemonstrated by an annual growth rate of 20 percent in volume for thepassenger and light truck tire business in the Americas region over thepast two years.
In addition to the Sumter project, CTA will be expanding itsheadquarters in Lancaster County, S.C. The headquarters, which opened in2009 and currently employs approximately 350 people, will receive a $4million investment that is expected to generate 80 new jobs over thenext four years.
Those interested in employment with CTA can find job postings on www.continental-corporation.com.The jobs link is under the “Continental Corporation” tab on the homepage. The company will also communicate information to potentialapplicants in the coming months.
About Continental
With sales of €26 billion in 2010, Continental is among the leadingautomotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systemsand components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation,infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technicalelastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety andglobal climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner innetworked automobile communication. Continental currently hasapproximately 164,000 employees in 45 countries.
About S.C. Department of Commerce
As South Carolina’s leading economic development agency, the Departmentof Commerce works to recruit new businesses and help existing businessesgrow. In 2011, Commerce won the Gold Shovel Award and the Deal of YearAward from Area Development magazine. Commerce has been part ofrecruiting world-class companies to South Carolina such as Boeing,Bridgestone, Monster.com, Heinz, ZF Group, BMW and Google Inc. Commercealso supports small and existing business, rural development initiativesand offers grants for community development. For more information,visit www.SCcommerce.com.
