Sumitomo investing to produce truck tyres in South Africa
Just over two years ago, Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired Apollo Tyres South Africa, and with it the operation’s car tyre factory in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. While the plant supplies the local market with passenger car and light truck tyres, Sumitomo Rubber South Africa has to-date met local demand for truck and bus tyres with imported products. This will soon change; the company has announced it will invest 910 million rand (£41.3 million) to install new production equipment within the Ladysmith facility, and it aims to produce truck and bus tyres there from July 2018.