Continental to expand earthmover tyre production
Manufacturer investing €100 million in extension of OTR tyre production facilities in Portugal
CONTINENTAL are investing around €100 million in an expansion of their off-the-road (OTR) tyre production facilities in Lousado, Portugal. The new capacity will be used for the production of radial earthmoving and port tyres with diameters larger than 24in.
‘Both the port and earthmoving segments are among the key growth areas in the commercial speciality tyre market,’ said Christian Kötz, head of Continental’s Tyre division. ‘The new production lines clearly reflect our commitment to these segments and the overall OTR business.’
The new production hall will be created adjacent to the existing radial agricultural tyre production facility opened in 2017. Equipped with state-of-the-art tyre-building machinery and automated systems, once fully up to speed the new production lines will deliver three earthmoving tyre lines and another three port tyre lines.
In addition to the new production facilities, the research and development centre in Lousado is being expanded and will be used for continuous performance and quality tests of all agricultural, port and earthmoving tyres. ‘This investment strengthens our footprint in Lousado and transforms the top-efficiency plant into a competence centre for big radial tyres for off-road use,’ concluded Mr Kötz.
