Continental Tire North America (CTNA) acquired the majority ownership of Compania Ecuatoriana del Caucho S.A. (ERCO), a leading passenger, light truck and commercial tire company in Latin America. This will significantly improve Continental’s competitive position in Latin America, through ERCO's strong distribution network in Ecuador and the Andean region of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador.
The ERCO Group operates out of Ecuador with a tire plant in Cuenca, and associated operations including a rubber plantation, retreading plant, tire import businesses and various retail chains in the Andean region.
Currently, ERCO sells Continental, General and Barum brands. The tire plant in Cuenca produces both passenger/light truck tires as well as commercial truck tires, and is the only plant in the region capable of producing radial truck tires.
ERCO experienced a 15-20% growth rate over the last four years and expanded its associated retail chain to 120 retail stores.
Continental has held a 42% stake in ERCO since 1987.
