Yokohama to Enter Rubber Processing Industry?

Press sources say that Yokohama Rubber is considering getting into the rubber processing sector in an effort to secure supply of natural rubber and to reduce rising raw material costs. General Manager of Corporate Purchasing and Strategic Sourcing, Keiichi Sekiya, said the Yokohama “wants to get closer to the rubber plantation people,” adding: “it doesn’t mean we want to get into the plantation business.” Should the company buy some land for growing rubber trees, this would only be for research and development purposes, he said, with the results shared with rubber growers.

Yokohama Rubber is borrowing several processing lines from an unnamed Thai company and the company plans to increase its spending over the next three years by 43 per cent to $1.02 billion, building new tyre factories in China and Japan and doubling capacity at existing plants in the Philippines and Thailand.