German technology company Continental will build a plant in New Braunfels, Texas, to expand its capacity to produce radar sensors.
The ground-breaking ceremony is planned for mid-2020 for the 20,000m2 plant, which will manufacture advanced driver assistance systems. About €100 million (US$110 million) will be invested over the next three years in the plant, with scheduled production of radar sensors planned to start in 2021.
Another 130 jobs will be added in addition to the current 450 jobs in development and production of driver assistance systems.
Frank Jourdan, member of the Continental executive board responsible for autonomous mobility safety said, “Over the next five years we are planning further investments in the high triple-digit million euro range in the areas of assisted and automated driving. The capacity expansion in New Braunfels is part of our growth strategy.”
Continental operates its own development centers and production sites in Europe, the US and Asia to offer customized solutions for customers.
Karl Haupt, head of the advanced driver assistance systems business unit, said, “Customer proximity in the individual regions is of paramount importance to us. The new plant in New Braunfels will provide us with a state-of-the-art production facility for our high-tech products, enabling us to continue our growth strategy.”
Some US car manufacturers use Continental’s radar sensors for technologies such as emergency brake assist and adaptive cruise control.
Specific US market technologies include blind-spot monitoring for passenger cars with trailers, with Trailer Length Detection and Trailer Merge Assist being made available on the 2018 Dodge Ram 1500.