Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. plans to boost capacity for truck tires at its Mount Vernon plant by mid-2015 as part of a $129 million investment at the sprawling car and truck tire manufacturing complex in southern Illinois, reports Bruce Davis of Tire Business.

The project will boost annual capacity to “more than” 3 million units – including new building capacity for wide-base single truck tires – and create more than 100 jobs, Conti said.

The company declined to be more specific about the scale of the expansion; according to a 2011 investment announcement, annual truck tire capacity at the plant was supposed to reach 3.15 million units by year-end 2012.

This expansion, which gives Conti its first North American capacity for wide-base truck tires, raises to $615 million the amount Conti has committed to Mount Vernon since 2006. Among the reasons Conti cited for making the investment are rising demand for Continental- and General-brand truck tires, the need to manage complexity better and “emerging technologies” in tire production.

Source: European Rubber Journal