Continental Corp., the worldwide supplier of tires and other automotive products with headquarters in Hannover, Germany, has joined with logistics providers Penske and Honold to open a regional distribution center (RDC) in Shanghai, China. The new operation replaces a temporary facility which opened in March of this year, and which will now be closed. The RDC represents "the next logical step" in Continental's development of an Asian distribution network, said Carsten Sziegoleit, head of worldwide warehousing and tire distribution. Operations there are based on established logistics processes and systems, he said, including "lean processes with a minimum of interfaces." Serving Continental in Shanghai are Penske Logistics and Honold Reifenlogistik, the latter a specialist in the handling of tires. Honold already provides Continental with more than 100,000 square meters of warehousing. Penske will rely in part on its distribution partners' existing truck fleets for deliveries. At the Shanghai RDC, Continental will have 6,000 square meters of storage space dedicated to passenger and truck tires. The facility can accommodate up to 80,000 tires, and annual turnover will amount to around 400,000 tires, the partners said. The RDC will handle the distribution of tires to all of China's provinces. "This step will further strengthen Continental AG's influence in the growing Chinese market," the company said.
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