Continental to build $40 million hose plant in Mexico

FAIRLAWN, Ohio—Continental has its sights set on growing its share of the North American hydraulic hose market and is backing that vision with a $40 million investment to expand production.

The Fairlawn-based company plans to begin construction later this year on a new industrial hydraulic hose plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The move, Conti said, will "increase and complement" existing manufacturing throughout the North American region and around the globe.

"The over-proportional growth in North America is a focus for us," Andreas Gerstenberger, who over-sees Continental's global Industrial Fluid Solutions business, said in a statement. " … The new facility will allow us to further expand our hydraulics business with the most compelling portfolio of hoses available and continue to strengthen our commitment to our customers and the North America region. It underlines our strategic approach to be the top performer in our markets."

And when it comes to meeting that demand, sustainability will be at the center of the efforts. The plant will focus fully on development and manufacturing of products that contribute to carbon neutrality and a 100-percent responsible supply chain.

Meanwhile, the plant itself is expected to operate sustainably, Conti said, noting that it has designed highly efficient utility utilization and innovative production processes into the plans.

Further, the plant is designed to achieve the "highest-possible manufacturing efficiency" and will employ Industry 4.0 standards to connect and integrate all of the equipment on site.

The plant, expected to begin operations in 2024, will create around 150 new jobs.

Demand for hydraulic products is growing throughout North America, especially as key end markets—agriculture, construction and energy—continue to gain steam and drive the demand. With this investment, Conti believes it can not only meet demand in the region, but build stronger supply chains with a more local-to-local approach to manufacturing and supply.

"The demand and growth of the hose market necessitates an investment like this," Gerstenberger said. "We're proud to be a leader in industrial fluid solutions and we're investing to build that success across the entire business portfolio. The new location will support ongoing activity in other Continental facilities to ensure all operate efficiently and effectively for the long term. This investment in additional regional capacity will fuel further growth for all of our facilities and operations."