Triangle Tyre Co. Ltd. has selected EdgeCombe County in North Carolina as the location for its first manufacturing facility in the United States. The plant represents an investment of nearly $580 million by the tire company and will employ up to 800 people when fully operational.
The plant will produce both passenger tires and commercial tires. Construction will be completed in two phases. The passenger tire facility is phase I of the project and a commercial tire facility is phase II. The facilities will be side by side, and the company expects to complete both phases by 2023. Once both facilities reach production capacity, Triangle expects to produce six million tires annually in North Carolina.
Triangle Tire Chairman Ding Yuhua met with Gov. Roy Cooper today to make the announcement. It will be the company’s first plant outside China. Triangle says it will be one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly tire manufacturing facilities in the world.
“Triangle Tire’s establishment in North Carolina is the largest manufacturing investment in a rural county to date,” said Gov. Cooper.
“This is Triangle Tire’s first manufacturing investment outside of China, and while they could have gone anywhere, they picked North Carolina due to our unmatched workforce, robust infrastructure capabilities and our best-in-the-nation business climate."
Cooper added: “Triangle Tire’s priorities are research and development, precision and cutting-edge technologies. These are the jobs of tomorrow, and our workforce here must be up to the task. And I know we are.”
Ding said the factory is a significant investment that will play a key role in Triangle Tire’s growth strategy worldwide and represents a strong commitment to its customers in North America. “We want to thank Governor Cooper and his team for all of their work in making this happen. We are excited to be coming to Edgecombe County!”
Ding said the megasite’s strategic location, quality of the local work force, and the warm welcome from state and local officials were all factors in the company choosing North Carolina after a comprehensive search for potential sites.
“The more I learn about North Carolina, the more strongly I feel that North Carolina is the right choice for Triangle,” Ding said. “In addition to its strategic location which provides cost-effective transportation, the citizens of North Carolina are diligent and enthusiastic. The state has a large working age population, healthy economic development environment and well-established education system.”
The plant will be located on the 1,449-acre Kingsboro Megasite which is located in the heart of the eastern seaboard, just off US Highway 64, and 10 minutes east of Interstate I-95. Raleigh is only one hour to the west. CSX Transportation provides rail service to the area and is adjacent to the site.
Triangle Tire, which was founded more than 40 years ago, manufactures more than 25 million tires annually in 5,200 different SKUs (tread patterns and sizes). Triangle tires are sold in more than 180 countries around the world.
The company’s success is due in large part to an unrelenting commitment to research and development, as well as utilization of highly advanced, cutting edge, manufacturing technologies. The company boasts more than 360 patents and has research centers in Weihai (China) and Akron, OH.
Triangle Tire USA (www.triangletireus.com) was established in January 2016 in Franklin, Tenn., (just south of Nashville) to serve the U.S. market.
“We expect that this will provide a huge boost in brand awareness and interest in our products as we continue to expand our presence in the U.S.,” said Manny Cicero, CEO of Triangle Tire USA.
Triangle Tire is headquartered in Weihai, a major seaport city located in the eastern part of China’s Shandong province. The company operates five plants in China. Its R&D center in Weihai is the only R&D institutions from tire industry to have been awarded by the Chinese Government the status of National Engineering Laboratory and National Industrial Design Institute.
