Continental has announced an investment of approximately $10 million in a new indoor tire test center located in Uvalde, Texas, at the company’s U.S. proving grounds.

“The new test center will support our vision of being the preferred technology partner for Continental’s original equipment customers for tires, as well as increasing our speed in developing new technologies specifically designed for the Americas market,” said Dr. Boris Mergell, head of research and development for passenger and light truck tires at Continental.

Strategically located on Continental’s proving grounds for tires in Uvalde, the new test center is designed to provide indoor test capacity for all tires manufactured in Continental’s North and South American plants.

“Our developments for original equipment customers in the Americas will be positively impacted, as we will be able to increase our testing capacity in the region,” said Dr. Juan Botero, vice president of key account management for original equipment passenger and light truck tires for Continental Tire the Americas. The test facility is expected to be fully functional in April of 2019.

Investments such as this new indoor tire testing facility are an essential pillar of the Tire division’s long-term strategy known as “Vision 2025.” Since the beginning of 2011, the division has invested far more than $3 billion to improve the balance within the global manufacturing and sales footprint. Investments into new plants like Sumter, South Carolina, capacity extensions in the existing tire plants and projects like the Automated Indoor Braking Analyzer (AIBA) at the proving ground Contidrom in Germany, as well as the High Performance Technology Center (HPTC) in Korbach, Germany, underline Continental’s aim of technological leadership.