Rubber & Plastics News
by Mike McNulty
Laying the cornerstone for the new addition at ContiTech’s plant in Morocco are, from left: Construction Manager Karim Kaddour; Project Manager Aimen Benali; Hannes Friederichsen, head of the firm’s conveyor belt group; Mouad El Jamai, governor of the province; and Claus Peter Spille, vice president of the ContiTech Mining World segment.
JORF LASFAR, Morocco—ContiTech A.G. is expanding its conveyor belt operation in Morocco to handle a growing phosphate market.
In cooperation with state-owned phosphate producer OCP S.A., the company has begun constructing a new production plant in Jorf Lasfar that is expected to span 66,000 square feet on a 247,570 sq.-ft. plot of land, which will give it plenty of room to expand if needed. It will create about 120 jobs.
ContiTech expects to complete construction of the factory and add new and used machinery by mid-2016, a company spokeswoman said. The first conveyor belts produced at the site are set to be shipped in the fall of 2016, according to Claus Peter Spille, vice president of the Mining World segment within the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group.
Financial details were not released, but he said the firm will be investing double digit million euros in the Jorf Lasfar plant.
Its newest facility will manufacture about 180 kilometers of rubber-coated textile and steel cord reinforced conveyor belts annually, he said at a foundation stone laying ceremony in Jorf Lasfar.
A large portion of the belts will be needed in Morocco to extract mineral resources, Spille said. “In the long term, however, we want to use our facilities in Morocco to serve customers in other parts of Africa—and in other parts of the world. This location is clearly positioned for further growth and will strengthen our global presence.”
