NTC to build greenfield tyre factory in Saudi Arabia

National Tire Company (NTC) has unveiled plans to build a greenfield car and truck tyre factory in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The goal is to focus on “premium” tyre production only.

The investment is owned by HRH Prince Fahad Bin Abdul-Rahman Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud. According to NTC, the plant will be the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and “one of the biggest and most modern individual tyre factories in the world”. The factory will make 16 million car tyres and 6 million truck tyres a year, with a workforce of 4000 at full capacity.

NTC will work with the Finnish Black Donuts Engineering Inc in the construction of the factory.

Farid Dudin, Head of the Project at NTC, said: “I am impressed by the width and depth of Black Donuts’ experience and convinced that they are the right team to give a modern boost to the GCC tyre market.”

The new tyre plant will be located in the industrial zone of Jubail, in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, approximately 400 km from the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The preliminary design of the 1 million square metre site has already started and the two co-operating companies expect to begin production in the second half of 2020.

Black Donuts will supply full design for the new, highly automated factory, including the designs of production buildings, the power plant, utility buildings, training facilities and an on-site mosque. In addition to the design and construction of the industrial facilities, an exclusive agreement has been made on the product design and development for both car and TBR tyres.

As one of the largest automotive markets for both new and used vehicles amongst GCC countries, Saudi Arabia is also one of the largest markets for car tyres. Due to absence of domestic tyre production, the tyre market of the country has been import driven. In recent years, the dominance of Chinese tyre brands has remarkably declined due to an increased popularity of high quality tyres, a result of growing urbanization coupled with increasing immigration and per capita GDP of the country.