The authorities of the Kaluga region announced the normal operation of the Continental plant

The German Continental tire plant in Kaluga is operating normally, informed Deputy Governor of the Kaluga Region Vladimir Popov in his Telegram channel.

“The tire plant of the Continental company in Kaluga continues to operate as usual, fulfilling all its obligations to employees and customers. The entire range of products is produced in full,” he wrote.

The day before – March 8 – Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer declaredthat the company will seek a controlled exit from the Russian market. It was clarified that its activities in 2022 were affected by the consequences of hostilities in Ukraine, restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic in China, the ongoing shortage of semiconductors, as well as additional costs of 3.3 billion euros as a result of higher prices for raw materials, energy and logistics.

Setzer added that the company suffered a loss of 850 million euros at the end of the year, in Russia, in particular, as a result of sanctions, assets worth about 87 million euros were depreciated.

Continental has suspended tire production in Kaluga after the start of a special operation in Ukraine. On April 20, 2022, Reuters reported, citing a company statement, that the Kaluga plant had temporarily resumed operations to meet local demand. Then the governor of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, announced that the plant would resume work on August 1, 2022 in a volume that would satisfy the needs of the market.

After the start of the CBO, Russian tire factories began to stop work due to problems with logistics. Michelin, Bridgestone and Continental have ceased production, and Pirelli has announced a decrease in production volumes in Russia to a level necessary to ensure obligations to employees. Finnish Nokian Tires has warned that EU sanctions will make it difficult to sell tires in Russia. However, later some enterprises nevertheless resumed production.