A German car parts manufacturer is investing $61.5 million to open a factory in Costa Rica. The company, Continental AG, made the announcement yesterday at Casa Presidencial, accompanied by President Oscar Arias and Foreign Trade Minister Marco Ruiz.

“This is a very important step toward the attraction of high-tech companies,” said Gabriela Llobet, director of the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), a private organization.

The first phase of the new factory will be up and running by the end of 2008 and will employ 350 people. An expansion of the factory, provisionally planned for completion in 2011, would add another 200 jobs.

The Costa Rican plant will be producing electronic components for export to car manufacturers in the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) market (the United States, Mexico and Canada), said Continental Vice-President for Electronics Plants Henner Cnyrim.

Continental AG does more than $21 billion in annual sales, operates in 19 countries including Brazil and Mexico, and employs 89,000 people worldwide.