Kenta Kuribayashi has been named president of Toyo Tire Corporation’s tyre production subsidiary in Europe, effective 1 September. He has taken on this role in addition to serving as president of Toyo Tire Europe GmbH and as chairman and chief executive officer of Toyo Tire RUS LLC.
An official opening ceremony is being held today for Nexen Tire’s new tyre factory in Žatec, Czech Republic. Numerous dignitaries have attended the event, including Petr Očko, the country’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Travis Kang, Nexen Tire’s global chief executive officer, and Byung-Joong Kang, the company’s chairman.
The likelihood of seeing BKT tyres ‘Made in the USA’ appears even more uncertain following an earnings call held by Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) on 13 August. Although the tyre maker reported three days earlier that the 20,000 tonne per annum factory project was just “in abeyance”, comments made during the call suggest the pause on work is more than temporary.
Indian automotive components manufacturer Endurance Technologies Limited has informed the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) that it’s halted plans to set up a tyre manufacturing operation. The decision not to expand into this area was made after investors voiced concerns about the project.
It appears that Sentury Tire has paused its project to set up a tyre factory in the USA. Local newspaper the Valley Times News shares that work has been “placed on hold indefinitely.”
A ceremony has taken place to mark the start of work on Linglong Tire’s new tyre factory in Serbia. Company chairman and chief executive officer Wang Feng greeted guests at the site of the future plant on 29 and 30 March to launch the new subsidiary, Linglong International Europe D.O.O. Zrenjanin (LLIE), and to hold the tyre maker’s global partner conference.
Continental’s new tyre making facility in Thailand is officially up and running. A ceremony was held yesterday to mark the occasion, with around 500 people present to mark inauguration of the 250-million-euro greenfield factory in Rayong. Production will now be ramped up to provide a capacity to manufacture some four million passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres by 2022. These tyres will be sold locally and throughout the entire APAC region.
Balkrishna Industries (BKT) has provided further details regarding its plans to build a factory in the USA. With a capital outlay of up to US$100 million, funded by investments and local debt, the tyre maker intends to establish a greenfield facility with an annual capacity of 20,000 tonnes.
Several days after its Board of Directors approved plans to build a factory in Serbia, Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. signed an investment memorandum with regional and national officials. Company chairman and president Wang Feng signed the agreement together with Goran Knežević, Serbia’s Minister of Economy, at a ceremony held in Zrenjanin, Serbia on 23 August. Aleksandar Vučić, president of Serbia, and Li Manchang, China’s ambassador to the country, also attended the ceremony.
Under Linglong Tire’s ‘5+3’ strategy, the company aims to establish three tyre factories around the world in addition to five facilities in China. The tyre maker’s first international plant was inaugurated in Thailand in 2014, and yesterday Linglong Tire announced its Board of Directors’ approval of plans to build a second in Serbia. Construction of a new facility 30 miles north of Belgrade is expected to commence in the first half of next year and ultimately give Linglong Tire an annual capacity of 13.62 million tyres in Europe. The project involves an investment of US$994.39 million.
In a letter to BSE, Ceat Ltd. has confirmed entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of India’s Tamil Nadu state. The tyre maker told the stock exchange that the MoU for setting up a new greenfield facility covers an estimated investment of Rs 40 billion (£437 million) over a period of ten years. It adds that passenger car radials, commercial vehicle radials and two-wheeler tyres will be produced in the plant.
At a ceremony attended by Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Dr Miro Cerar, and other national and local dignitaries, Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI) broke ground on 17 May at its newest site. The plant project in Logatec, Slovenia focuses on non-tyre production, specifically the manufacture of rubber parts for medical applications, and builds upon the company’s acquisition of Lonstroff AG in 2015.
It’s only been four months since the foundation stone for Continental’s new tyre factory in Rayong, Thailand was laid, yet good progress has already been made. On 15 March the first machine was installed within the plant, an occasion celebrated by some 180 guests, Thai officials, as well as Continental management and representatives from the local project team, suppliers and dealers.
An announcement made yesterday confirms Kingsboro (Edgecombe County), North Carolina as the site for the new Triangle Tyre Co., Ltd. plant in the United States. Sharing news of the project, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper stated that Triangle intends to invest nearly US$580 million in the area.
The foundation stone for the new Continental tyre factory in Rayong, Thailand was laid last week at a ceremony marking the official start of work on the greenfield project. Company management, suppliers and local dignitaries attended a ceremony on 21 November that included elements of Thai culture and that of Continental’s homeland, Germany.
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