ContiTech eyes growth from NAFTA base

By Mike McNulty, Crain News Service

FAIRLAWN, Ohio (Aug. 3, 2015) — ContiTech A.G. officially unveiled its new-look North American headquarters in the Akron suburb of Fairlawn July 29 with the aim of positioning itself for greater growth in each market it serves in the region.

Jim Hill, the company's new CEO of the ContiTech's NAFTA region, addressed a gathering of employees before unveiling the new ContiTech sign that sits in front of the two-building campus.

Things are changing at the company quickly, including the Veyance and Goodyear brand names, Mr. Hill told the crowd. The firm plans to focus on informing customers and the public about new brand names created by the purchase of Veyance Technologies Inc., he added.

The Veyance name has been replaced by ContiTech; Veyance's Goodyear brand has been replaced by the Conti and ContiTech brand names, he said prior to unveiling the firm's new sign. For instance, the automotive belts brand will become Continental Elite.

“We will continue to provide the same top-quality products and services to our existing customers and now, as a member of the Continental family, we will be able to provide world class options in all the product lines and the industries we serve,” said Mr. Hill, who has been with the business for 27 years.

“We're basically the same organization as before — just bigger and better.”

ContiTech acquired Veyance in January 2015 and has been merging the firms' operations since then. It will be some time before that process is complete.

“Our new organization will enable us to strategically position ourselves to provide dynamic growth for all of the markets in which we compete in the NAFTA region,” Mr. Hill said. “We will continue to grow our customer network and provide the seamless distribution of our products with our focus on the NAFTA region.”

ContiTech will begin to launch a series of advertising campaigns on the new brand names and supplement them with news releases and special communications efforts to the firm's customer and distributor base.

About 180 people are employed in the Fairlawn facility, among the 41,000 that ContiTech employs in 34 countries.

This report appeared on the website of Rubber & Plastics News, an Akron-based sister publication of Tire Business.