Continental Announces US$40 million Investment

The German mobility company Continental announced a US$40 million investment for the construction of a new production plant in San Luis Potosi, increasing and complementing its manufacturing capabilities in the region. 

Continental needs to invest in the region to keep growing in North America, said Andreas Gerstenberger, Head, Continental’s Industrial Fluid Solutions Global Business Area. “Being able to grow in North America is our goal. We have many successful installations in the region that will be complemented by this investment through additional production capacity.” The plant will allow automotive suppliers to meet the growing needs for wire stranding and spiral wire in the region. It is expected to start operations in 2024 and create over 150 new jobs, while also helping the regional manufacturing capabilities and supply chain efficiencies of Continental in North America. 

Continental’s current plant in San Luis Potosi celebrated its fifth anniversary on March 29, 2022. The plant first opened its doors in 2017, employing 60 workers. Over the years, the plant grew to reach 43,000m2 and host over 950 employees. “Behind every great success there is a beginning, ours was in March 2017, when we consolidated as the first Continental plant of the Safety and Motion division in San Luis Potosi, in which we were formed with only 2 machining centers, plating 1 and only 1 assembly line the SL01,” said Víctor Hernández, Plant Manager, Continental. 

This plant has been essential in the development of Mexico’s automotive industry, said Marco Galluzzi, Focus Country Head, Continental Mexico. “The State of San Luis Potosi is key to Continental's development in Mexico, we are extremely pleased with the results of our automotive plant; our people there are extremely talented and committed to our organization, which makes us firmly believe that these five years are just the beginning of a great success story,” said Galluzzi. Continental has over 20,000 employees in Mexico split into 20 facilities, which include manufacturing plants, financial centers and R&D centers in 12 states. 

Continental has NMX-R-025-SCFI standard for Labor Equality and Non-Discrimination, the ISO 45001:2018 Certification, which is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It also has ISO 14001, international standard for the environmental management system, as well as the IATF 16949 certification for the quality management system.