MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa—ContiTech plans to expand its industrial hose plant in Mount Pleasant in response to greater demand for the hose in the NAFTA region.
Cost of the project was estimated at about $7.2 million by the company, which is globally based in Hanover, Germany. The firm's U.S. and NAFTA headquarters complex is located in Fairlawn, Ohio.
Rick Anderson, manager of the Mount Pleasant factory, said the company plans to add another 30,000 square feet to the factory, which presently spans about 146,000 square feet.
The expansion includes an additional production line “which will increase our total floor area and our capacity by 20 percent,” he said.
Anderson said the expansion will enable ContiTech to add 12 to 14 workers at the facility.
Purchased in 1977, the company currently employs a little more than 200 at the site.
Construction of the addition is expected to begin in late March and be completed by the end of the year, according to Guy Enta, director of the Americas' industrial fluid systems, industrial hose and hydraulics, for the company.
ContiTech primarily manufactures industrial hose along with hose for the transportation industry at the factory.
About 90 percent of the hose production is earmarked for the NAFTA region, he said.
It also operates industrial hose plants for the region in Hannibal, Mo.; Norfolk, Neb.; Sun Prai-rie, Wyo.; and Granby, Quebec.
“Our business is doing well in non-resource sectors like manufacturing, retail, food and beverage, which is having a positive effect on Mount Pleasant,” Enta said. “Like all of those who participate in resource sectors like oil and gas and mining, our business is also being impacted by the downturns in those industries.”
Demand for the firm's hose has increased in the region because “customers continue to be our focus and we strive to provide quality products, service and solutions to meet our customer needs,” he said.
In terms of the outlook for industrial hose, Enta said that the company sees continued growth in the non-resource sectors.
However, he noted, a very slow recovery is impacting ContiTech in the mining and oil and gas industries.