Continental Expands Turbocharger Business: Production in the Czech Republic Successfully Launched

• The Trutnov plant produces the turbocharger for Ford’s 1.0 liter EcoBoost gasoline engine, which has been selected "International Engine of the Year" three times
• Fully automated production ensures maximum quality and endurance while also cutting costs
• Continental is also planning production in China and North America

Regensburg, Trutnov (Czech Republic), September, 25, 2014. There are only a few automotive components for which demand is growing as strongly as for turbochargers for gasoline engines. The reason for this is that they are a key prerequisite for successful downsizing, i.e. reducing cubic capacity and fuel consumption while ensuring the same or even increased performance. The international automotive supplier Continental did not get started in this booming business field until 2011, but celebrated a sensational debut straight away. The 1.0 liter EcoBoost gasoline engine from Ford, for which Continental developed the turbocharger, has been selected as "International Engine of the Year" for three consecutive years since 2012. Previously, this turbocharger was produced at the Lahr plant of the cooperation partner Schaeffler. Now, Continental has expanded its capacities and started the turbocharger production at its Czech location in Trutnov, where the success story of the Ford turbocharger is now being continued. Systems for other customers are being produced in Lahr, among them the world's first turbocharger with an aluminum turbine housing.

"Gasoline engines with a turbocharger represent a clear growth market in which we have secured ourselves a strong position within a very short time, thanks to innovative products," says Wolfgang Breuer, Head of the Engine Systems Business Unit in the Powertrain Division. "In the coming years, we are expecting this market segment to grow by double-digit percentage figures worldwide. This market thus presents us with outstanding opportunities to expand our business – particularly in Asia, but also in North America and Europe. After the production launch in Trutnov, we are planning to expand our production in China and North America as well.

Trutnov, a 32,000-inhabitant town near the Giant Mountains, is home to a Powertrain Division site, where the Engine Systems and Sensors & Actuators Business Units are represented. The complex covers an area of almost 25,000 m², of which 14,500 m² is devoted solely to production. The workforce of some 780 employees produces components for exhaust gas recirculation, high pressure pumps, high pressure sensors, and intelligent actuators. The location's high level of mechanical expertise was a decisive factor for the decision to base the new production facility there. "Turbochargers are very demanding mechanical components, and Trutnov offers the ideal essential prerequisites for manufacturing them. The successful and smooth start of production is the best proof of this," says Udo Schwerdel, Head of the turbocharger product line in the Engine Systems Business Unit.

Continental has a total of seven locations in the Czech Republic, six of which belong to the Automotive Group. In addition to Trutnov and nearby Adrspach, these locations also include Frenstat and Ostrava in the east of the country, Brandys near Prague, and Jicin, located about halfway between Prague and Trutnov. Continental's Tire Division also has a production location in Otrokovice in the southeast part of the country. In total, the corporation has more than 13,000 employees in the Czech Republic.