Continental Acquires Japanese Bearing Sensor Manufacturer

Continental Teves Corporation (CTC, a division of Continental Teves, Germany) has acquired a key supplier and leading Japanese manufacturer of ABS and wheel bearing speed sensors. CTC, formed in 2000, is a joint venture division of Continental AG (Germany) and ABS brake specialist Nisshinbo Industries (Japan). The venture extended Nisshinbo's ABS braking system technical reach and allowed Continental better access to Nisshinbo's traditional customer base of Japanese and Korean automakers. By 2004/2005, Continental Teves Corporation has stated it intends to be a fully integrated brake and chassis supplier to Japanese and Korean automakers. Toward that goal, CTC has now acquired its regional supplier of bearing/wheel speed sensors, a division of Nagano Japan Radio Company, Ltd. (Japan). With 1,350 employees and plants in Japan and China, Nagano has been supplying wheel speed sensors exclusively for Continental Teves since 1997. The Japanese and Chinese manufacturing operations were acquired in two separate transactions. In 2002, Nagano produced almost 13 million wheel speed sensors, worth almost USD $65 million, for CTC. Currently, most of the production is being done in China. "These acquisitions represent a further landmark in our long-term strategy for the Asia region," said Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart, head of Continental Teves Corporation.