This is the title of an internal Continental aerial video that shows the new Continental Automotive Systems site located on Kohlenberg Road in New Braunfels where advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) will be manufactured.
"We [Continental] are excited to see the project get underway and the progress that has been made; “The project is off and running!” Coordination for the official groundbreaking event with the Continental officials as well as Team New Braunfels is also being planned for this summer."
Sitework for the plant began in April 2021, and there is certainly some mud being made with the recent rains. The project will take about 16 months to complete the build out of the over 200,000 square foot facility. The project was delayed about a year to allow for a more stable construction workforce environment amid the COVID pandemic, but they are trying to make up the lost time now.
This Continental (automotive) facility will house the manufacturing, distribution, as well as the research and development department of their ADAS automotive sensors that can detect other vehicles, other people, and the distance to these driving obstacles for the vehicle operator. The safety equipment according to Continental is now becoming standard equipment on nearly all makes and models of vehicles from the top of the vehicle line to the bottom of the vehicle line .
"It just increases the situational awareness for the vehicles operator,” according to a Continental Official.
The workforce at the plant will require some special skill sets that were identified early in the site selection process. The availability of these skill sets was located along the IH-35 corridor from south of New Braunfels to as far north as Kyle and Buda. There will be a steady increase of hires at the plant beginning with approximately 400 employees in the first year of operation and increasing to more than 575 employees when the plant is at full operation – resulting in an annual payroll of nearly $28 million.