Overview: Cheng Shin Rubber (Maxxis)

Taiwan’s Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. Ltd.’s decision to establish a production base in the People’s Republic of China makes sense because of the obvious linguistic and cultural similarities and the regional proximity. This tyre manufacturer is one of the most rapidly expanding companies participating in the Chinese tyre market and is also well represented in European replacement markets with its brand Maxxis; the company also produces the Cheng Shin brand.

Since Cheng Shin Rubber (Xiamen) Ind. Ltd. – a 100 per cent subsidiary of Cheng Shin Rubber from Taiwan – first began producing tyres in the city of Xiamen (Fujian province), the site has been continuously expanded. Today, the Xiamen facility mainly produces commercial tyres but also manufactures motorcycle and bicycle tyres as well as passenger car tyres. It goes without saying that the Triangle products are DOT- and E-marked for export markets and that the production facility is also certified according to ISO and QS. According to estimates the factory has a production capacity of about 12 to 13 million units.

Two years after production started in Xiamen the Taiwanese manufacturer finally set foot in the Chinese tyre market with the foundation of a joint venture together with Toyo Tire & Rubber from Japan: the Cheng Shin-Toyo Tire & Rubber (China) Co. Ltd. Both companies invested up to 160 million euros in this new tyre factory in the city of Kunshan, which was later expanded in three separate stages. The first tyres were produced there in 1997. Most tyres produced are PCR tyres as well as bias-ply truck and industrial tyres. With an annual production of about 2.5 million units the factory generates an annual turnover of about 60 million euros. The vast majority of this turnover is generated in export markets; only small quantities are actually sold in China.

In 2001 both partners – Toyo and Cheng Shin – founded another joint venture: Cheng Shin-Petrel Tire (Xiamen) Co. Ltd. This company began producing radial truck and bus tyres in 2004. Toyo owns about 20 per cent of the joint venture; in total about 110 million euros have been invested in this new factory, which initially had an annual output of about 300,000 units but was expanded to 750,000 units last year. According to the plan both partners will also produce radial light truck tyres after the factory has undergone further expansion. During this stage the production of bias-ply PC and LT tyres will be phased out and replaced with TBR capacities.