HANOVER, Germany — With its acquisition of Taizhou Fuju Rubber Belt Manufacture Co. Ltd., ContiTech AG, based in Hanover, Germany, is continuing the expansion of its drive belt business in China.

Since its birth in 1993, Taizhou Fuju Rubber Belt has predominantly manufactured drive belts for the automotive replacement business and for industry in general. In the future, ContiTech will make use of a recently completed 33,000-square-meter production complex, located in Sanmen in Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai. It will be equipped with new machines and offers space for further expansion. ContiTech, a division of international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industrial partnerContinental, will be taking on a total of around 100 employees from Fuju.

"This acquisition enables us to achieve further above-average growth in China," said Heinz-Gerhard Wente, member of the executive board at Continental and head of the ContiTech division. "In a very short time frame, we are expanding our production capacities in China and strengthening our drive belt business unit."

From spring 2014 on, ContiTech will manufacture mainly V-belts and V-ribbed belts for the automotive OEM market, the automotive aftermarket and industry in general in Sanmen. The new plant is just 50 kilometers away from the ContiTech plant in Ninghai, where belts for the automotive sector and for industry in general are manufactured.

"The proximity of the two production sites creates synergies," said Konrad Müller, head of the ContiTech Power Transmission Group business unit. "Everything we produce at the new site will likewise be manufactured in strict accordance with ContiTech quality standards. In the future, we will be able to ensure our customers in China faster delivery of a wider range of products."

The acquisition closed in mid-January. ContiTech operates more than 10 plants in China and employs around 2,500 individuals.