Richmond - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that Continental Teves, Inc., one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, will expand its Culpeper County facility. The expansion will create 29 new jobs through a $3 million investment, and is part of a two-year $14.7 million investment program that will allow the Culpeper plant to service recently awarded new business contracts. Governor Warner met with Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart, deputy chairman of the Executive Board for Continental AG, on May 20th in Frankfurt, Germany, as part of his week-long European mission.
“When I met with Continental AG officials in Frankfurt, they reinforced the company’s commitment to the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Governor Warner. “The automotive industry employs thousands of people in our state and we continue to assist important suppliers like Continental Teves find growth opportunities. In Culpeper, Virginians will be employed by a great company with a great purpose: manufacturing state-of-the-art automotive safety equipment.”
Governor Warner was accompanied on the European mission by Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Michael J. Schewel and representatives from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. To support Continental Teves’ ongoing investment, Governor Warner will encourage further development of Germanna Community College’s Center for Workforce and Community Education.
“Investing in our Culpeper plant will allow us to add new equipment and upgrade the facility so that it can continue producing vehicle safety technologies that help save lives,” Ziebart said. “These investments were necessary in order for Culpeper to manufacture the next generation anti-lock brake system (ABS), offering automakers improved performance in a lighter, more cost-efficient unit, as well as the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) that significantly enhances vehicle stability, and anti-rollover protection technologies.”
The 29 new jobs in Culpeper will support Electronic Air Suspension production destined for sport utility vehicles built in North America. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Culpeper County assisted Continental Teves with its decision. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide workforce training services.
Virginia’s automotive and automotive parts manufacturing facilities employ more than 25,000 Virginians. There have been 117 new facilities or expansions of existing Virginia facilities in the automotive industry announced during the past 10 years. Since 1992, Virginia has announced $2.1 billion of automotive investments, creating more than 10,300 jobs.
Continental Teves, headquartered in Frankfurt/Main Germany, is a unit of Continental AG, Hanover, Germany. With 2002 sales of approximately $12 billion (US), the Continental Corporation is a major supplier of brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tires and technical rubber products. Continental Teves’ North American operation is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. For additional information, visit these websites: www.conti-online.com and www.contitevesna.com.