MHI Gearing Up to Produce Tyre Manufacturing Machinery in China
Vehicle production in China is said to have exceeded an estimated 13.5 million units last year, with 2010 production expected to grow to around 14 million units. Alongside this growth, demand for tyres in this market has also risen sharply, and during the course of the coming year China is anticipated to surpass the US as the world’s largest tyre market. In a “strategic response” to moves by global tyre makers to enter the Chinese market, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has taken the decision to manufacture tyre production machinery there through its wholly owned Changshu Ryoju Machinery Co., Ltd subsidiary. The Jiangsu Province based operation is now in the final stages of readying its plant, and this preparation should be complete by the end of February in time for a March commencement of production.