German motorcycle tire manufacturer Continental announced that is building a new factory in Rayong, Thailand.  The company has invested €26M to for the new facility.  The factory will open sometime in 2021.

Initial production will focus on radial tires.  Later the factory will also produce bias-ply/cross-ply tires.  Continental says that the factory should bring approximately 100 new jobs to the area.

The new facility is being built close to the passenger car tire factory which the company opened in March of this year.  Continental says that ongoing demand for its motorcycle tires in Europe, the USA and the growth of Asian and South American markets is the reason for the need for increased production capacity.

According to Continental Tires’ Head of Sales and Marketing; Motorcycle Tires, Martin Burdorf:

“Production operations in Rayong will neither replace any existing plants nor stand in the way of their expansion. In Korbach, [Germany] for example, the focus will remain on the development and production of premium tires, accompanied by a further substantial increase in capacity.  The same high-quality standards apply to all Continental tires worldwide, standards that the company has embraced in line with the motto “German Engineering since 1871”.

With that statement, it appears that the design and development of Continental motorcycle tires will remain in Germany.  But the production of those designs will occur in the new Thailand factory.

The company plans to become a driving force in both the automobile and motorcycle tire industry.  This expansion will help the manufacturer meet rising demand.

Featured photo credit: Continental Tires

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