Czech Republic - Continental has opened a new production hall at its plant in Trutnov. Covering an area of 8,000 sq.m, the facility houses nine new production lines dedicated to churning out nitrogen oxide (NOx) sensors. 200 new employees are working at the facility.
"With this investment in Trutnov in the North East of the Czech Republic, Continental will be in an excellent strategic position to meet the increasing demand for advanced NOx sensors," commented Klaus Hau, head of the company's sensors & actuators business unit. "These electronic components detect nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas of a vehicle and provide the data for the effective conversion of NOx into harmless substances."
According to Jiří Barvínek, head of the technical department at Trutnov, construction of the new facility came with some problems. "Linking the existing production and storage areas to the new construction plant has been a great challenge since the beginning of the project. Despite the tight schedule, we focused on maximum functionality and energy efficiency of the building, as well as the most effective solution for new automated production," he stated.
The expansion of the Trutnov plant has been made as sales of diesel vehicles in Europe continue to slide, and some OEMs could abandon diesels in their product portfolios altogether. According to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, registrations of diesel cars totalled 1,574,333 units in the first quarter of 2018, marking a decrease of 322,622 units (or 17%) when compared to the same period in 2017.