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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Continental Tires the Americas Announces $224 million Investment at Mt. Vernon, Illinois Site: 444 New Jobs Expected

05/13/2011
Continental Tires the Americas (CTA) has announced that it is investing $224 million to expand its North American headquarters and manufacturing facility located in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The state is providing a business investment package to leverage the private investment and help create 444 new jobs over the next three years.

The announcement was made at a news conference on Thursday, May 13th at the CTA Mt. Vernon plant. Total investment in Mt. Vernon by CTA since 2006 will now stand at more than $486 million according to a press release from the company. A press release from the Governors Office noted that during that time, employment at the plant has grown by 430 jobs, bringing the current plant employment to 2,588. The new investment will bring the total number of jobs at the plant to 3,000.

Members of Governor Pat Quinn's administration joined CTA officials in highlighting legislation the Governor signed last week (Senate Bill 4) which was key to CTA's investment in the plant. The expanded Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit allows qualifying companies to apply their EDGE tax credit against either the company's annual withholding tax liability or their annual corporate income tax liability.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is administering the state's $22 million business investment package. In addition to the EDGE tax credits, the package consists of Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) job training funds that will help enhance the skills of the company's workforce, and a Large Business Development Grant to assist Continental with capital expenses associated with this project. The company is also eligible for benefits from being located in an Enterprise Zone.

Increasing demand for Continental and General brand passenger and light truck tires in North and South America is the impetus behind the investment noted Matthias Schoenberg, CEO of Continental Tire the Americas, "Continental Tire the Americas is experiencing significant growth and demand for its tires throughout the region," said Schoenberg. "Adding production capacity to meet this demand was essential. And, the Mt. Vernon employees earned this investment as they continue to prove that they are competitive on a global level."

The expansion announcement comes on the heels of an announcement in April by CTA that funding was approved for a greenfield tire plant in North America.

"While we don't have any details to share at this time regarding the potential new plant in North America, we hope to have an announcement to make later this year," Schoenberg said. "With all this activity in the region I am confident that Continental Tire the Americas will continue on this successful path of providing our customers in North and South America with a broad selection of outstanding tires for their cars and trucks."

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