Continental, one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world, recently announced an investment of almost R$ 180 million to expand its plant in Ponta Grossa, Paraná.

Continental has a global presence in more than 60 countries and employs more than 233 people worldwide. The company offers a wide range of automotive products and services, including tires, braking systems, chassis technology and electronic components.

The expansion of The unit will aim to increase tire production capacity to meet growing demand of the Brazilian market. The announcement made by Continental last Tuesday was that the investment for the expansion of the factory would be close to R$180 million. 

In this way, Continental will be the first company to provide Brazil with high-resistance conveyor belt technology – it will start producing steel cord conveyor belts whose resistance exceeds 6.000 N/mm and up to 10.000 N/mm. 

According to Continental itself, the expansion of the factory will allow the creation of around 200 new direct and indirect jobs in the region. In addition, the investment should contribute to the economic development of the municipality of Ponta Grossa and the state of Paraná as a whole.

Continental aims to reach the Brazilian public and relies on the infrastructure of the state of Paraná to improve its factories

According to Continental's president for South America, Frédéric Sebbagh, the purpose of improving the plant in Paraná is to serve the growing South American market more closely. For that, it is necessary for the factory to be installed in a well-developed and well-located region such as Ponta Grossa, Paraná

In addition, he highlights some specificities of the Latin American market: “It is a market that has a lot of demand for solutions for handling raw materials such as iron and copper, the result of urbanized and electric mobility”.

Paraná authorities are excited about the installation of Continental

According to the mayor of the municipality of Ponta Grossa, the increase in production at the factory is of great importance for local growth. 

She also highlights Continental's role in generating jobs and in the region's market: "We have had an expressive growth in the industrial area, consolidating our city as one of the country's giants in the business environment and with a lot of expression in the collection of ICMS in Paraná. Continental is part of this story of progress and adds to the development of Ponta Grossa and the generation of jobs”.