ContiTech A.G. has launched production at its newest rubber compounding facility — the first it has built in China.

Cost of the project was a little more than $11 million, one of the largest investments for a mixing operation in the firm’s history.

It’s the company’s first compounding center for general applications, other than tires or conveyor belts, built outside of Europe, the company said. Until now, according to ContiTech, the firm produced rubber compounds for applications such as drive belts, hose and tires at its three plants — two in Germany and a third in Hungary.

The new factory has about 32,190 square feet, according to Peter Scholtissek, head of the firm’s Compounding Technology business unit. He noted that the “machinery on the first production line is some of the most efficient in the whole of ContiTech.”

“We want to continue to grow sustainably in the Chinese market,” Hans-Jurgen Duensing, CEO of ContiTech and a member of the executive of ContiTech parent Continental A.G, said in a statement.

Source: tirebusiness.com