Groundbreaking held for Sumitomo agri tyre plant

Sumitomo Rubber Industries reports that its 100 per cent owned subsidiary, Sumitomo Rubber (Thailand), held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new agricultural tyre factory in Thailand on 2 August. The plant, which is currently under construction in the Amata City Industrial Estate, Rayong Province, will be Sumitomo’s first agricultural tyre factory outside of Japan. It is being set up with a total investment of some 10 billion yen (£80 million) and is scheduled to enter production in May 2014. The 130,000 square metre facility should produce around 50,000 tyres a month by the end of 2017.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by approximately 100 people, including Sumitomo Rubber chairman Tetsuji Mino, Sumitomo Rubber (Thailand) President Toru Nagahata and representatives from construction companies.