Continental Tyre South Africa (CTSA) would invest an additional R91-million in new machinery and upgrades at its Port Elizabeth plant, which produced Continental, Barum and Matador brand tyres, this year.

The tyre manufacturer invested more than R400-million in its 3.5-million-tyre-a-year plant operations over the last four years.

“There is increased demand for offroad vehicle tyres and, to keep up with demand, we have to invest in additional machinery,” said CTSA corporate communications manager Gishma Johnson.

In addition to new machinery, new information technology systems were being installed to support the manufacturing processes and would result in greater production efficiencies. 

She added that the steady increase in vehicle sales over the last three years and the subsequent growth in demand for tyre replacements had positively impacted on tyre production and sales.

However, Johnson said investments in the business could only continue should the company remain profitable, adding that, while CTSA was part of a multinational automotive conglomerate, it was self-funding and responsible for its own sustainability.

“The ongoing increases in electricity and fuel prices are a major threat to our competiveness. We compete for business against several developing countries where production costs are significantly lower than in South Africa,” she said.

In addition to the high utility costs, South Africa’s high port changes and additional taxes and levies were placing increasing pressure on companies wanting to continue investing in the country.

Johnson added that the tyre industry required greater numbers of skilled and semiskilled people, pointing out that CTSA was continuously engaged in training and upskilling its employees.

Meanwhile, the company said it continued to invest in innovative methods to minimise its impact on the environment.

“CTSA is committed to the protection of the environment in which we operate. We recognise that during the manufacturing of tyres, our activities, products and services can impact on both people and the environment. We design our processes and products with an emphasis on avoiding any negative consequences for the environment,” she commented.