The first sods of earth in the construction of the new Continental headquarters in Hannover, Germany were turned yesterday at an official groundbreaking ceremony. The facility, which carries the snappy title Continental Campus, is expected to be finished by the end of 2020 and provide space for 1,250 employees. The entire headquarters workforce should be housed in the new buildings by 2021, the company’s 150th anniversary.
A fire broke out within the Continental factory in Hannover-Stöcken, Germany yesterday. In a news alert, the city of Hannover shares that the fire began in a rubber powder grinding plant. The incident was attended by 52 firefighters and 19 fire engines, and together with the factory’s own firefighting team they were able to extinguish the fire quickly. No injuries were reported, and according to the news alert, Continental’s safety concept “functioned smoothly” during the incident.
When Continental AG set out its plans for building a new headquarters in Hannover, Germany, it talked about a project that would “reach into the high double-digit million-euro range.” One German newspaper writes that the tyre and automotive systems manufacturer is now looking at a bill more than twice this amount.
A Continental tyre factory in Hannover, Germany was evacuated yesterday as part of a planned action to defuse and remove a number unexploded bombs dating from the Second World War. The plant, adjacent to the company’s current headquarters, was closed along with hospitals and nursing homes in the area. Some 50,000 local residents were required to leave their homes.
In June, Continental signed a MoU with the city of Hannover, Germany to secure the site for its planned new corporate headquarters. The company is now moving forwards with the next phase of the project – according to the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 German and European architectural firms have been commissioned to develop concepts for a “creative head office.” The newspaper comments that rather than adopt a standard design, Continental seeks a solution that reflects the company’s foci on sustainability and innovation.
In recent months Continental AG has been evaluating potential sites for its new headquarters, and has examined plots in Hannover and the nearby town of Garbsen. The company now shares that it is favouring the location near the ‘Pferdeturm’ in Hannover as the site for its future headquarters. Continental says it has officially entered concrete, detailed negotiations to this end with the city of Hannover.
Continental AG’s tyre division is planning to “significantly expand” its Contidrom testing and development centre, north of Hannover. According to local press reports, the tyre manufacturer have already bought an adjacent 20-hectare area of forest. The expansion is said to focus on expanding wet handling test capacities which have been described as a “bottleneck” for the entire site. Nearly 11,000 tyre tests are currently conducted on-site.
