Goodyear Spends on Chilean Production Expansion

Goodyear will double its production capacity at the company’s Maipú plant in Chile, following an investment of US$400 million over the next four years. Chilean business news sources quoted Goodyear’s Chilean president, Claudio Rodríguez Pemjean, stating that despite the 100 per cent proportion of raw materials imported to the factory, Goodyear plans to compensate by increasing the efficiency of the production process and updating its current technologies.

The executive was keen to squash any idea that the Chilean plant would produce tyres of lower quality, given the increase in oil costs. Goodyear also stated that the company was continuing to develop and investigate alternative raw materials – especially those derived from natural sources – that allow the tyres to attain comparable levels of performance.

News of the investment comes hot on the tail of the announcement that Continental is to go it alone in Argentina. It seems that South America is the place to be for tyre businesses looking to continue expansion in the face of stalling markets elsewhere.