Xingda investing £200 million expanding Thailand tyre cord factory

At the end of July, Chinese tyre cord manufacturer Xingda announced that it is investing 1.6 billion yuan (£200 million; 232.432 million euros; $237 million) adding 200,000 tons of steel cord annual production capacity to its Thailand factory. The planned construction period is 24 months and the project has been officially approved by China’s National Development and Reform Commission.

Prior to the expansion, Xingda Thailand has a production capacity of 100,000 tons of steel cord per year. According to the company, the Thailand factory boasts some of the most cutting-edge production equipment and technology, as well as a high level of automation. Announcing the investment news, company representatives explained that the existing Thai operation has hit capacity exporting tyre solutions to “tyre makers in Southeast Asia, India, America and Europe”.

Xingda’s Chonburi, Thailand factory opened in September 2019, three years after construction work began in 2016. It was the company’s first overseas manufacturing base.

Speaking at the time, Mr. Liu Xiang, general manager of Xingda Cord (Thailand) Co. Ltd. said: “This is a new starting point for Xingda,” adding: “it is integral to our strategy of globalization and proves our commitment to better serve our valued customers in the global steel cord market. Our overseas business has grown strongly during recent years, and now the Xingda Thailand plant will make us even more competitive and bring us enormous growth opportunities in the global market.”

China first overseas tyre cord factory

As well as being Xingda’s first overseas factory, the operation is also the first overseas steel cord manufacturing plant owned and operated by a Chinese parent company. Back in 2019, executives hinted that further investment was planned:

“The Thailand plant is our first plant outside China, but definitely not the last. It will enable us to gain tremendous amount of experience of running a factory in another country, and this will pave the way for our further global expansion,” said Liu Jinlan, chairman of Xingda. At present the Thailand operation remains Xingda’s only overseas production base, which suggests further investment is still possible.

Jiangsu Xingda Steel Tyre Cord Co. Ltd. is located in Dainan Town, Xinghua City, Jiangsu Province, formerly known as the Dainan Thermal Power Plant, which was run in 1988. It entered into the steel cord industry in 1992 and became a joint stock limited company in 1998, listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It established production plants in Shandong Province in 2011.

At present, Xingda has more than 7,000 employees making products related to steel cord, bead wire, hose wire and sawing wire. According to the company, domestic market share is 27 per cent and its international market share is 18 per cent.

The Xingda name is trademarked in 74 countries and, by the end of 2017, Xingda had 262 authorized patents, included 52 invention patents.