German tyre manufacturer Continental has started construction on its new tyre plant near Clinton, Mississippi.

The new manufacturing plant will be located on a 1,000-acre greenfield site in Hinds County. The manufacturer will make a long-term investment of about $1.4bn on the project, and expects to employ 2,500 staff when the facility reaches full capacity.

Nikolai Setzer, Continental executive board member and head of the company’s global tyre business worldwide, said: "Building this new facility in Mississippi is a critical part to our growth strategy for Continental Tire, known as Vision 2025.

"This is the first new plant, globally, for the truck tyre business in more than ten years. We are convinced that the state of Mississippi provides the best options for Continental to grow our tyre business."

Construction work is expected to begin in 2018 and be completed in 2019.

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