Yokohama to Construct Vietnam Plant

Yokohoma has announced plans to build a light truck and motorcycle tyre plant in Vietnam over the coming 13 months. According to analysts reports, the plant is expected to come on-line by June 2007, with annual capacity of 3,100 metric tonnes of mixed rubber.

The announcement follows hot on the heels of the news that Bridgestone will invest 200 million euros in building a new plant to produce radial tyres for trucks and buses. In Poland. Production for this factory is due to start in the first half of 2009 with capacity at around 5,000 tyres a day.

According to Deutsche Bank analysts 66 million units of “incremental tyre capacity” are expected to come online between 2006 and 2008, mostly in low-cost regions like Eastern Europe and Latin America.