Conti 'fully cooperating' with hose quality investigations

HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G. is "fully cooperating" with local authorities over investigations into "deviations" from standards relating to hose production at subsidiary ContiTech's Korbach site in Germany.

In a Dec. 7 statement to European Rubber Journal, ContiTech said the authorities started their investigations following the German group's voluntary announcement of "misconduct" in September last year.

The statement came in response to German press reporting that the group was being investigated by the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office.

"The authorities concerned started their work on the basis of our communication," ContiTech told ERJ. It added that current reports are based on procedures which "have been running since our initial communication and, so far, there are no new developments."

In September 2022, ContiTech temporarily suspended hose production at Korbach, stating that applicable standards for testing industrial hoses "were not always complied with" at the site.

For example, testing had not been carried out consistently at the specified frequency, the company said.

At the time, the ContiTech had conducted extended quality audits for all hose types across the group. The quality checks were prompted by reports of irregularities in hose-lines for automotive applications, such as refueling, water and steam lines.

In 2021, hose production in Korbach contributed a "mid double-digit million euro" amount to Continental revenues.