Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. recently held an opening ceremony for its new passenger and light truck tire factory in China. Known as Toyo Tire (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., it is located in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province.
Approximately 350 people were invited to attend the ceremony, including officials and industry leaders, Toyo Tires customers, guests, and approximatley 100 people from the Toyo Tires group.
At the ceremony, President and CEO Kenji Nakakura said, "Despite the challenges brought on by the East Japan Earthquake, the Toyo Tires Group pressed forward with the construction of this factory as planned. So it is that we have arrived at this auspicious day...
“From here, the next chapter in Toyo Tires' history will begin, and we will grow and flourish."
The demand for passenger and light truck replacement tires in China is forecasted to double by 2015, keeping pace with the country's rapid economic development, the company said. Toyo Tire (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd. is being positioned as the key manufacturing point for Toyo Tires’ passenger and light truck tires in China, as it works to build the foundation for a global production and supply structure.
Featuring state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, the factory is primed to produce about two million high-quality tires per year to meet China's future demand.
In addition to the Toyo Tire (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. factory opened today, Toyo Tires also plans to build a new factory in Malaysia, targeting April 2013 for operations. Thus, Toyo Tires is working to achieve their goal of a worldwide production supply structure of 45 million tires by 2015.
