Yokohama Forever Forest Tree Planting Carried Out in Thailand

Work on Yokohama Rubber’s “Yokohama Forever Forest” project, started in 2007, is ongoing, and last December the company staged a tree-planting ceremony at its Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. facility. This is the third location outside of Japan to receive the Forever Forest treatment, following the Philippines and China in August and November 2008 respectively.

Prior to the planting, Dr. Akira Miyawaki, ecologist and professor emeritus of Yokohama National University, and Dr. Sirin Kawlaierd, currently working at the Thai Imperial Household Agency, investigated trees indigenous to the specific area. At the end of August 2008, the company received tree-planting guidance based on the results of their investigation and carried out preparations, including developing the intended location and producing seedlings.

Some 1,500 people attended the tree-planting, including employees of the Yokohama Rubber Group and their families, representatives from local communities and local residents, students from local elementary schools, and representatives of other companies in the Amata City Industrial Estate, where the company is located. After welcoming comments by Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) president Yasuhiro Mizumoto and other distinguished guests, an explanation on how to plant the trees was given. Thai dancing and other performances by elementary school students then took place before the participants were divided into groups and, over the course of an hour or so, planted about 7,200 trees, 25 varieties, native to the area – primarily broad-leaved evergreen trees in the Dipterocarpaceae family.

The “Yokohama Forever Forest” project will create forests over ten years at domestic and overseas production sites, concluding in 2017 in conjunction with the centennial celebration of Yokohama Rubber. At seven plants in Japan and eleven overseas plants of the Yokohama Rubber Group, a total of 500,000 trees will be planted. In Japan, the first-phase tree-planting has been completed at six plants (all but the Shinshiro Plant, where an event will be held in May 2009), with 51,900 trees planted so far. In 2009, the second-phase tree-planting will start. At overseas locations, tree-planting will be held at Yokohama Tire Corporation in the US in April 2009, and again at Yokohama Rubber (Thailand) Co., Ltd., in September.