HANOVER, Germany—ContiTech NAFTA, the North American arm of Conti-Tech A.G., has plans in the works to expand into new sectors and to broaden its reach into Europe with key product lines.
Based in Akron with 25 production plants spread across North America, the business is looking at moving into the food and beverage industry, Jim Hill, CEO of ContiTech NAFTA and head of its Conveyor Belt Group, said at a recent news conference held in Hanover.
“This sector has seen relatively constant growth and is not as strongly affected by market fluctuations as other industries,” he said. “We are intent on developing a solid strategy for this market. We were not fully represented in this industry previously, but with top quality hoses and hose lines from the ContiTech portfolio, we now will open up a new business opportunity for ourselves.”
In addition, Hill said, the NAFTA business is focusing on the off-highway sector, as are a number of other business units within ContiTech parent Continental A.G. In particular, he cited agricultural machinery manufacturers as a good fit for ContiTech's scratch resistant surface materials, electrically conductive fuel hoses and drive belts.
He said the high performance belt “is very resistant to wear and abrasion, completely maintenance free and helps reduce servicing and replacement costs. We did not have such a powerful and innovative belt in our portfolio before Continental came along.”