Continental Teves Breaks Ground for New North American Headquarters
24 August 1999
Continental Teves Breaks Ground for New North American Headquarters
- New Facility to Help Continental Provide Integrated Systems
From Contact Patch to Driver Interface -
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Aug. 24 -- Continental Teves, a world
leader in the design, development and supply of highly engineered brake and
chassis systems that contribute to driving safety and comfort, broke ground
today on a new North American headquarters and state-of-the-art technical
center located in Auburn Hills. The 200,000 square-foot, $40 million
headquarters will be organized into a two-story building consisting of a
technology center and administrative offices. The building will house more
than 500 employees. The facility will open in spring 2000.
The new headquarters will feature a modern technology center, with
expanded engineering development facilities that will enhance vehicle systems
integration and help Continental deliver a better product in less time. The
research and development facilities will include a vehicle evaluation test
track, complete NVH laboratories, durability and validation testing, along
with the capability to optimize automobile chassis design for any vehicle
type, from chassis synthesis to ride development. The engineering processes
will build upon Teves' rich heritage, extensive technical knowledge, and
commitment to simulation, computer modeling and algorithm design.
The new building will be part of Continental's worldwide high-speed
communication network that links Continental engineering centers in Europe,
North America and Asia and its plants in North America. This network allows
sharing of development and applications data, and leverages the firm's global
engineering intellect, one more way the company provides its customers with
the greatest overall value.
The new headquarters in North America will also include sales, marketing,
quality, purchasing, finance, human resources, operations and program
management offices for Continental Teves North America. The facility will
also house sales offices of Continental General Tire and ContiTech, two other
Continental AG business units currently located elsewhere in metro-Detroit.
"Bringing Continental's Detroit operations together creates a synergy that
will make it easier to address the industry's need for complex, yet easy-to-
use and affordable, vehicle safety and comfort systems," said Bill Kozyra,
Continental Teves president, North America. "Our new building will help us
solve vehicle system issues and serve our customers in an even more efficient
and competitive manner. It furthers our long-standing reputation for
engineering excellence.
"The shared technological kinship between our core divisions --
Continental Teves, General Tire, and ContiTech Products -- will also create
the opportunity to achieve profitable growth through combined efforts. The
'new' Continental is expanding its core business with tires and components to
embrace the development and production of advanced electronic brake and
chassis systems that help manage vehicle dynamics. Our union of technology
and expertise will significantly improve Continental's presence as a global
partner. No other supplier has these unique capabilities. Continental is the
only company with the capability to connect the driver to the road."
The new building also reflects Continental's commitment to the viability
and vitality of the workplace for its employees. When Continental engineers
need a respite from creating new systems, they can walk outside into a park-
like setting. Maple, Ash, Oak, Spruce, Austrian Pine and flowering crab trees
are among the more than 400 trees planted around the complex. Two-story glass
walls in the employee cafetorium offer pleasant views of the lakes region of
Oakland County. The company also plans to employ some of the most modern
office system concepts to maximize work group communication and efficiency.
The work areas include 10,000 square feet of training centers and open meeting
space, plus numerous expanded work stations where employees, rather than
operating in isolation, will be able to execute solutions in concert with
their co-workers.
Continental Teves has selected a site that will allow for expected future
growth. The new facility will be located on 28 acres of land and be highly
visible from Interstate 75 near Joslyn Road, giving Continental an increased
presence in the Detroit area.
Continental Teves, headquartered in Frankfurt/Main Germany, is a unit of
Continental AG, Hannover, Germany, with 1998 sales of US $2.3 billion. The
company is a leading systems supplier to the automotive industry.