Sumitomo Rubber Industries setting up new regional headquarters

On March 30, Sumitomo Rubber Industries will decentralise the day-to-day supervision and management of its overseas offices and subsidiaries, handing responsibility for this over to three newly-formed regional headquarters. The tyre maker and industrial/sporting products manufacturer believes that the establishment of headquarters for Europe and Africa, the Americas and the Asia Pacific regions will help the company gain a greater understanding of the business situation in each area, and by doing so accelerate its decision making process.

The Europe and Africa Regional Headquarters will be led by Yutaka Kuroda, the Americas Regional Headquarters by Yasutaka Ii, while Satoru Yamamoto has been named general manager of the Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters.

The founding of a regional headquarters in the Americas follows a number of changes that took place within Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ North American operation on 1 January. The company’s North American business units were restructured to accommodate full ownership of the former Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America joint venture following last year’s dissolution of the global alliance with Goodyear Tire & Rubber. The alliance’s termination also handed Sumitomo control of the Dunlop motorcycle tyre business in North America and the rights to sell Dunlop-brand tyres to Japanese vehicle manufacturers in the USA, Canada and Mexico.