OREANDA-NEWS. July 20, 2016. ContiTech signed a memorandum of understanding on a new plant in Qingdao, China, mainly for automotive hoses, during a delegation trip through Germany headed by Dr. Guo Shuqing, Governor of Shandong province. The company plans to invest more than €20 million (approximately 200 million RMB) for the first step and to set up a greenfield with an initial floor space of approximately 15,000 square meters in the Sino-German Eco Park of Qingdao West Coast New Area, which is fully supported by the local government. “We want to meet our customer’s needs and requirements most effectively. That’s why we consequently follow our strategic approach to further localize our global operations. With that signature, we commit to expanding production capacity in the growing market China as well as in the Asian Pacific region, in response to the increasing demand for hoses and hose lines,” stated Hans-J?rgen Duensing, member of the Continental Executive Board and ContiTech CEO.

Signing ceremony: Hans-Jurgen Duensing, member of the Continental Executive Board and ContiTech CEO (sitting left), and Shiyu Zhao, CMC Director of Sino-German Eco Park of Qingdao, (sitting right), signed a memorandum of understanding on a new automotive hose plant in the Sino German Eco Park of Qingdao, China. Also attended the ceremony (standing, from left to right): Dr.-Ing. Stefan Schoen, Head of Key Account Management Commercial Vehicles & Off Highway, Interior Division; Dr. Michael Ruf, Head of Commercial Vehicles and Aftermarket, Interior Division; Burkhardt Koeller, Head of Controlling Division Tires; Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Continental CEO; Dr. Guo Shuqing, Governor of Shandong province; Hua Wang, General Secretary of Shandong Government; and Deping Zhang, Vice Mayor of City Qingdao.

In the next few years existing production of heating and cooling hose lines will be moved to the new location, which is located only a few kilometers away from the current site, and has a projected annual output of about 15 million low pressure pipes in its first full-capacity phase. Depending on market development the company intends to further expand the new plant in a timeframe of five years and is expected to be completed by 2020.Currently the global technology company and industry partner ContiTech produces and sells rubber hoses and hose assemblies for the automotive industry, with more than 500 employees in downtown Qingdao, mainly for domestic car manufacturers in China and in the Asian Pacific region. Meanwhile, customers will continue to receive the same service and quality from ContiTech.