Auburn Hills City Council Approves Expansion at Continental Automotive Systems

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AUBURN HILLS— The City of Auburn Hills, a dynamic community committed to innovation and growth, is pleased to announce the City Council has approved the expansion of  Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. at its Auburn Hills sites.  The company, the third largest auto supplier in North America, is a subsidiary of Continental AG based in Hanover, Germany. It sought approval to expand the Company’s South Campus building at 2400 Executive Hills to 213,296 sq. ft. to accommodate the need for additional office and vehicle laboratory testing space for new and continuing automaker projects.

Continental Automotive has a significant research and development footprint in Michigan.  The company occupies three facilities in Auburn Hills and currently employs approximately 1,500 people in the City.  The building addition approved by the Auburn Hills Planning Commission is part of a comprehensive expansion initiative which includes a separate $1.5 million interior renovation project at its Auburn Hills North facility at One Continental Drive. Both projects combined are expected to increase the company’s presence in the City of Auburn Hills to almost 1,800 people. 

The South Campus building houses employees with the company’s automotive Powertrain and Interior divisions, which develop innovative and efficient solutions for reducing CO2 emissions, optimizing fuel consumption for diesel and gasoline engines, and improving vehicle control and handling. The new investment in the South Campus is estimated at $4.8 million and 170 new staff are expected to be added to this facility alone.  Continental Automotive anticipates that approximately 95 percent of the new jobs will be full-time engineers.

“Continental is proud to call Auburn Hills home,” said Samir Salman, CEO of Continental’s NAFTA Region.  “The city is an outstanding partner and provides an excellent environment for businesses to succeed.”

In April 2012, the Michigan Manufacturers Directory reported that Auburn Hills was ranked third in the state behind Grand Rapids and Detroit for industrial employment, with 23,024 industrial workers calculated between February 2011 and February 2012. Auburn Hills City Manager Pete Auger says Continental’s expansion further solidifies Auburn Hills as a prominent business address for automotive suppliers.

“A few years back, many naysayers questioned the future of the automotive industry and its supplier base, but Continental has really showed its long-term strength, knowledge base and solid market position with this expansion.  It is among several other automotive suppliers such as Borg Warner, U.S. Farathane, Delta Technologies, Henniges Automotive, and Jabil Circuit that are committed to Auburn Hills and the automotive industry.”

Continental Automotive Systems has 14 business units in its portfolio, with offerings ranging from safety systems and powertrain products to instrument displays.  The bulk of Continental Automotive’s Michigan employees work at the Auburn Hills headquarters campus, with smaller offices in Troy and Dearborn.