Continental Tire reveals plans for $69 million distribution operation in Fort Worth
The technology and energy-saving features of Continental Tire’s planned Fort Worth distribution center are expected to serve as a blueprint for the German transportation giant.
The company Wednesday revealed plans for its $69 million warehouse at 10101 Old Burleson Road, its first fully-owned tire distribution center in the United States. Construction on the 753,000-square-foot building begins this month. It will be able to store more than 800,000 tires when it opens in 2026.
A Continental spokesperson declined to comment on how many jobs the distribution center will create locally.
The warehouse is the latest addition to Hillwood Development Co.’s Risinger/35 Logistics Park, a 280-acre development in south Fort Worth. Hillwood is also the developer of AllianceTexas, a 27,000-acre mixed-use development in far north Fort Worth. Hillwood declined to comment on the Continental project.
Dick’s Sporting Goods recently announced plans to build a distribution center in the Risinger/35 Logistics Park development. It is expected to create about 300 jobs.
Continental chose Fort Worth because the Metroplex is a “key distribution hub.” Seven distribution hubs serve the U.S. market.
“Designed for future expansion, the new distribution center will include advanced automation technology and sustainability features, such as solar panels,” said Bill Caldwell, senior vice president for Continental passenger car and light truck tires in the U.S. “We see the facility as a blueprint initiative for future building designs in respect of automation and renewable energy supply.”
The company hopes to reach 100% carbon neutrality by 2050. Continental’s tire division recorded $15 billion in sales in 2023.
“As the planned facility is from the tire branch of Continental it would be a good investment, because the Continental tire business is highly profitable, in opposite to the rest of the business, especially the automotive branch, which produces red numbers since about 20 years ago,” said Paul Erker, a business historian and associate professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany.
Erker has written extensively about Continental, including two books.
Texas isn’t completely unfamiliar territory for Continental. The tire maker opened a 215,00 square-foot automotive manufacturing center in New Braunfels in 2022, which, at the time of its opening, was expected to create over 500 jobs. It operates a proving ground in Uvalde for test drives and research and development projects. The company expanded its Grand Prairie distribution center in 2017.
Tire manufacturing supported 55,610 jobs in Texas and had an $11.7 billion economic impact on the state in 2022, according to the U.S. Tire Manufacturers’ Association. Earlier this year, the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association predicted tire shipments would increase by about 1% this year.
Continental’s total sales exceeded $45 billion in 2023. Based in Hanover, Germany, the company is focusing on expanding its presence in the North American and Asian tire markets as part of its “Vision 2030” strategy. Continental has roughly 200,000 employees across the 56 markets it operates in around the globe.
Continental’s Americas division is headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The company has six offices and factories in the U.S.
Fort Worth city council member Chris Nettles, whose district includes the location of the center, did not respond to a request for comment on the project.
