Official opening for Vietnam’s first truck radial plant

On 29 June, Vietnam’s Danang Rubber Company and the Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) held the inauguration ceremony for their, and the country’s, first truck tyre radial factory. The new plant is located within the Lien Chieu Industrial Zone in Da Nang City, and covers an area of 106,632 square metres. It was built with a total investment of VND 2,992 billion (£92.1 million), including equipment costs of VND 1,663 billion, and has a 600,000 tyre per annum capacity. The Vietnamese tyre maker says plant equipment was imported from Italy, The Netherlands and Germany.

At the inauguration ceremony, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Danang Rubber and Vinachem, and said the companies had grasped the right opportunity by constructing a factory that will supply both the domestic and export markets. Tyres manufactured in the new plant will be marketed under the DRC brand name.

The factory’s opening has created 1,000 new jobs in the local area. And according to Danang Rubber Company, when the plant reaches its full capacity, the company’s revenues will exceed VND 4 trillion (£123.1 million). At present, Danang Rubber holds a 25 per cent share of Vietnam’s truck tyre market and 15 per cent stake in the national motorcycle tyre market. 

Danang Rubber is not the only Vietnamese tyre maker engaged in a truck tyre radial project. Last year, the Southern Rubber Industry Joint Stock Company, more commonly known as Casumina, started construction work on its new US$160 million truck radial factory. This 68,000 square metre plant in Binh Duong Province is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year and will have an initial annual capacity of 350,000 tyres. This is expected to rise to one million units by 2017. The plant will increase Casumina’s annual turnover to VND 5 trillion (£153.9 million) and employ 1,200 workers.