Continental donating to Serbian flood victims

Flooding last month created havoc in some parts of the Balkans and killed at least 40 people. Continental, which operates two plants in Serbia, is donating a total of around €70,000 for the flood victims in that country. On 4 June the company gave €50,000 to German relief organisation Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V. In addition, employees and management of the ContiTech plant in Subotica have donated approximately €11,000 to the Serbian Red Cross and a further €10,000 is being given to Continental employees personally affected by the flooding.

‘Help’ is organising a fundraising campaign together with the German–Serbian Trade Association, the Delegation of the German Economy, the German Embassy in Serbia, and the Deutschland Serbien forum. “Continental has around 700 employees in Serbia. We therefore have close ties with the country and want to make a contribution toward its reconstruction,” says Heinz-Gerhard Wente, member of the Continental AG Executive Board.

Dr. Danilo Vujosevic, general manager of the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group in Serbia, shares news of how the flooding has affected some of its workforce: “Seven of our employees in Serbia have lost their homes as well as all of their belongings as a result of the floods. The affected employees have received financial aid and in-kind donations, quickly and with minimal red tape, to help them rebuild their homes.”

The two facilities Continental operates in Serbia are the Kolubara Univerzaal d.o.o. plant in Veliki Crljeni, which manufactures conveyer belts for the mining sector, and ContiTech Fluid Serbia d.o.o. in Subotica, which produces hose lines for the automotive industry. Continental says both locations were spared direct flood damage, although production was halted at the conveyer belt plant as a result of power cuts.