$20 million expansion, over 100 new jobs planned for Indian Land headquarters
Continental Tire will expand its operations in Indian Land, the company announced Tuesday.
The company will invest more than $20 million to add an 88,000-square-foot building next to its existing headquarters at 1830 MacMillan Park Drive, according to a South Carolina Department of Commerce news release.
The expansion should be complete by mid-2022.
The move is part of a plan since April 2017 to bring 200 jobs to Lancaster County, said Continental Tire spokeswoman Tanya McNabb. About 100 new jobs have been added the past three years, she said.
The new space will consolidate Continental operations moving about 400 current area employees to work in Indian Land, McNabb said, and provide room for growth.
The current space is 91,000 square feet, which includes a 16,000-square-foot addition built eight years ago.
A top county employer
Lancaster County has been home to tire operations for the company’s Americas Region since 2009. The new campus investment will “bring our team together in a new, fresh space that includes modern features and design to support the future work environment,” said Continental Tire of the Americas CEO Jochen Etzel.
Continental makes and distributes passenger vehicle, light truck and commercial tires. The company dates back to 1871.
The state Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved a $2.6 million closing fund grant to Lancaster County for the project.
Steve Harper, Lancaster County Council chairman, said in the release Continental is one of the county’s premier and most recognizable employers.
The state Department of Employment and Workforce lists Continental Tire among the top 20 largest employers in Lancaster County and manufacturing as the second-highest employment sector for jobs behind only retail. The average manufacturing job salary in Lancaster County pays more than $50,000 a year, according to the state.
Employment numbers amid COVID-19
The announcement comes as the tri-county area continues its economic recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March. Last week York, Lancaster and Chester counties saw a sharp decline in initial unemployment claims. There were 185 combined claims in the three counties. At the height of pandemic job loss, York County alone had 3,374 claims the first week of April.
South Carolina employment follows a similar trend.
Last week statewide initial unemployment claims dropped below 4,000 claims for the first time since early March. The 3,619 claims were well below the more than 87,000 claims in one week at peak in April when businesses were closed to stop help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
However, the unemployment claims are still higher than the 1,996 the first week of March before the pandemic surge in job loss began.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 4:33 PM.
