PUCHOV, Slovak Republic — Continental A.G. marked the 20-year anniversary of its affiliation with the former Matador A.S. in Puchov by donating $9,400 to four local non-governmental organizations.
Since forming a joint venture with Matador in 1998, Conti has invested nearly $750 million to expand the plant's capacity nearly 10-fold and quadruple employment to about 4,700.
At 2.9 million tires a year, the plant is Conti's largest truck tire factory, accounting for roughly a third of the company's total truck tire capacity.
Originally a 76-25 Continental-Matador joint venture, the factory became fully owned by Continental in 2009 after Conti bought into and then acquired outright Matador A.S.
In comments at a ceremony marking the occasion, Christian Koetz, head of Conti's commercial vehicle tires business unit, lauded the plant's management and workforce for the facility's agility and flexibility.
"The plant and its employees have always been open to support innovations and innovative products. I always appreciated the long-lasting high performance of the plant and its employees to satisfy the customers' requirements not only in quality, but also in volume, coverage and costs."
Conti did not identify which NGOs it contributed to.
Conti recognized the plant in 2016 and 2017 with its Quality Award for highest KPI level.
Puchov is a town of 20,000 in eastern Slovak Republic on the Vah River, located about 120 miles northeast of Vienna, Austria.