A $10 million investment in tire testing is complete, and Continental Tire the Americas LLC says it will help the company fast track work on the newest tire technologies for its original equipment customers. Continental celebrated the completion of its new Advanced Indoor Evaluation Center on June 5 with a ribbon cutting. The center is located on the company's proving grounds in Uvalde, Texas.
Director of Global Evaluation and Tire Additional Performance Thomas Neddenriep said, “The new Advanced Indoor Evaluation Center offers the latest technology in tire testing, allowing Continental to offer industry-leading products and services to our Original Equipment customers. Continental is committed to being a preferred technology partner and our new center allows us to increase the speed in which we develop new technologies and offer them to our partners.”
The new space allows for indoor testing for all passenger and light truck tires. Testing in the facility began in April. When Continental announced its plans to build the indoor testing site, it said it would serve all of Continental's production facilities in North and South America.
The addition at Uvalde is part of the company's long-term Vision 2025 strategy. Since 2011 the company has invested $2 billion toward balancing its global manufacturing and sales footprint. In the U.S., those investments have included the addition of the commercial tire plant in Clinton, Miss. and adding capacity at its plant in Sumter, S.C.
