Petlas doubles radial agricultural tyre capacity

Petlas Tire Corporation, which is known for producing the Petlas and Starmaxx brands, has announced that it has made substantial investments into expanding the agricultural radial tyre production capacity of its manufacturing plant. According to the company, the move reflects growing demand for Petlas and Starmaxx tyres from the European and North American agricultural markets. As a result of the expansion Petlas reports that it reached a annual capacity of 300,000 radial agricultural tyres – double previous levels – as of December 2012.

Petlas’ decision to double the theoretical capacity of its Petlas Tire Industry and Trade Co. factory in Kırsehir, Turkey will also results in a significant increase in the actually output of the plant. This means that there will be an actual production increase of “no less than 50 per cent” from current levels, with production focusing on radial implement and radial tractor tyres. The planned investments also offer Petlas the option to produce larger and wider tyres than before, which means some pretty big tyres as the company’s current portfolio already extends to a width of up to 750 mm and a total diameter of 2 metres. 

The Kırsehir plant covers approximately 1,000,000 square metres of land with a 300,000 square metres enclosed area. Production began in 1975. As of December 2012 approximately 2300 employees work at the factory. Current production capacity (again as of December 2012) amounts to approximately 13,000 tons/month. 

In June 2012 newspaper reports suggested Petlas was significantly expanding its passenger car tyre production capabilities. 

In 2008 the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, reportedly offered loan support of up to US$250 million dollars to the company.