FORT MILL, S.C. — Continental Tire North America (CTNA) has announced the appointment of Oliver Winschiers to the position of managing director of Continental Tire Canada. Winschiers will be based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and will be responsible for the profitable growth and overall operation of the Canadian division of Continental Tire North America.

Winschiers was previously director, corporate purchasing for Continental’s Automotive and Rubber Groups in The Americas, based in Auburn Hills, Mich. He was also responsible for the direct material purchasing for Continental Tire North America, including the overall operation of the Aldora Mills cord fabric plant in Barnesville, Ga. He came to Continental via Siemens VDO. In October 1997, Winschiers joined Siemens AG in Stuttgart, Germany, as a regional sales manager for document management systems before moving to the purchasing function within Siemens VDO automotive business.

While growing up, Winschiers lived in Holland, Germany, Tunisia and Iraq before returning to Germany to complete his education. He is fluent in German, French, English and Spanish, and he studied business administration in Germany.

"Oliver brings a truly global perspective to our Canadian operations and our Americas management team," said Matthias Schoenberg, CEO of CTNA. "His background in sales and purchasing provides solid business management experience for Continental in Canada."

Winschiers’ appointment is effective July 15 and he will report directly to Schoenberg.

Jay Dhillon, who was acting managing director in Canada, will return to the U.S. to continue managing the Automotive Aftermarket and General Merchandise business of Continental Tire.