11/26/2007

• Program provides opportunity for employees to earn associates & Bachelors degree
• One further step of global qualification strategy

Mount Vernon/Hanover, July 20, 2007. Continental Tire North America, Inc. (CTNA) today announced the official launch of Continental University at its Mount Vernon facility. The program will formalize a current pilot program with Rend Lake College (RLC) that gives all employees the opportunity to earn an associates degree on site as well as expand the program to allow students to receive a bachelors degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC).

“We’ve been pleased to make capital investments in our Mount Vernon facility over the past few years totaling more than $160 million, and today I’m equally pleased to announce a direct investment in the education and professional growth of our employees through Continental University,” said Heinz-Gerhard Wente, Executive Board Member and Global Head of Human Resources of the Continental AG. “It is a meaningful program that promotes higher education and advances employees’ career paths at Continental, and one that also promotes the exchange of knowledge and ideas and cultivates a high-performance culture in the workplace.”

Continental University is a program based on partnership between the cooperation and local colleges and universities that provides employees with easy and affordable access to higher education. Its mission is to contribute to the development and career advancement of employees and to align their studies with specialized business needs. The concept was created by Continental AG in 2005 and is part of a global strategy of a life long learning and education support for employees. Cooperations have so far been launched in nine other facilities, including those in Mexico, the Philippines and Romania. The program at Mount Vernon is the first in the United States.

Under the Continental University program, all employees are eligible to attend classes on-site at CTNA that are timed around work schedules. In Mount Vernon, CTNA and RLC have run a tuition-free pilot program in the facility since 2005, where CTNA has provided classroom space and, together with RLC, state-of-the-art equipment for students’ use. In addition to earning an associates degree in business, employees can also receive course certifications as well as participate in continuing education classes and employee training initiatives. The announcement today solidifies CTNA’s relationship with RLC by bringing this current program under the official Continental University program and builds on it by adding a new occupational certificate program in tire building.

“Rend Lake College is thrilled to officially join the Continental University network and to support Continental´s commitment to higher education and advancement of employees,” said RLC President Mark Kern. “The Mount Vernon facility is a mainstay in our community, and we look forward to a long partnership for many years to come.”

Here you will find further information about the international network of Continental Universities.