Conti, Moscow Tyre setting up Russian joint venture

MOSCOW (Sept. 11)—Continental A.G. is setting up a tire making joint venture with Moscow Tyre Plant and will invest $29.5 million over three years to build a factory adjacent to Moscow Tyre's existing factory. The new, as-yet unnamed joint venture will start production in the third quarter of 2003, with an annual capacity of 1.5 million Continental- and Barum-brand car and light truck tires. Capacity will more than double, to 3.4 million units, by 2006, the companies said. The agreement, signed Sept. 10, formalizes a planned venture the two parties had discussed in April 2001. The newly disclosed agreement, though, is not as ambitious as originally planned—$43 million investment for eventual capacity of 5 million units. Continental will be majority owner of the new venture.