National Press Release

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C., March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Tire North America (CTNA) celebrated the grand opening of its new North American headquarters in South Carolina. CTNA held a special ceremony attended by community leaders, customers and employees. CTNA's CEO Matthias Schoenberg started off the festivities with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and news conference.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090326/DE89840 )

"Continental Tire has built a solid reputation by providing outstanding products throughout our 138-year history, and this move to South Carolina is just the next step in our ongoing effort to contribute to the North and South American markets," said Schoenberg. "We are grateful to South Carolina for helping us develop this beautiful new headquarters. The Lancaster County Economic Development Corporation and the State of South Carolina were instrumental in the decision to move our headquarters. We appreciate their efforts on our behalf, and we look forward to a long and successful future in South Carolina."

The new state-of-the-art, $11 million facility is a 75,000 square foot building which sits on 11.5 acres in northern Lancaster County. The facility currently employees 375 people with opportunity to expand. Forsite Development built the property in just over a year with direction from Darrell Walters and Tom McKittrick. A local workforce was hired to landscape and set up the new facility.

Continental manufactures and distributes a complete line of Continental and General brand passenger, light truck and commercial tires for original equipment and replacement markets. Consistently ranked #1 in quality by Tire Rack and other industry testing companies, Continental's brands are available at leading independent tire dealers, car dealers, and mass retail companies across North and South America.

In 2009, Continental Tire continued its effort in the North American market with the launch of its new Extreme Contact line of passenger tires and new Commercial tires dedicated to the needs of the North American market. The new Extreme Contact line will be available in spring featuring the latest technology in ultra-high performance, all-season and winter tire products.

    --  ExtremeWinterContact - dramatically improves ice and snow traction
    --  ExtremeContact DWS - delivers extreme grip in dry, wet and snow
        conditions, and great performance in handling and braking.
    --  ExtremeContact DW - features serious performance on both wet and dry
        roads, while maintaining ride comfort and improved gas mileage.

Continental also launched five new commercial tires that are designed to improve fuel efficiency and extend tire mileage. The new tires include:

    --  HSR2 - A regional steer tire
    --  HDL2 DL - An over-the-highway long haul drive tire
    --  HTL Eco Plus - A long-haul trailer tire that is one of the most
        fuel-efficient trailer tires on the market
    --  HSU2 - A heavy steer tire for waste haulers and construction equipment
    --  HTL1 - A wide-based super single tire, designed to replace two trailer
        tires.

"We are confident that with our outstanding products, professional workforce and commitment to the North and South American markets that Continental will have a prosperous future for our employees, our customers and for the State of South Carolina," said Schoenberg.

For more media information please visit www.ctnamedia.com

With sales exceeding euro 24 billion in 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, powertrain and chassis systems and components, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global climate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. The corporation employs nearly 140,000 at approximately 190 locations in 35 countries.

SOURCE Continental Tire North America