Trelleborg expands facilities, tire lines

March 2, 2011

Trelleborg Wheel Systems has acquired an operation in Xingtai (Hebei), in eastern China, to facilitate the company’s expansion in the Asian markets for specialty tires, primarily agricultural tires.

The production plan includes both cross-ply and radial tires requested by the local markets, the new agro industrial radial line and the Maximo line, the new second radial line engineered by Trelleborg. 

The new investments and process re-engineering of the existing manufacturing facilities along with the extensive Trelleborg marketing program for Asia has already started, the company notes.

“The project represents an important step forward for our company in creating added value for our customers and in reinforcing our brand leading position as a specialist in agricultural solutions” says Paolo Pompei, president of agricultural and forestry tires.

“There is huge potential in Asia for the development of agricultural mechanization. For example, today only 41% of Chinese farm work is mechanized and there is a total 122 million hectares of arable land compared to the whole of Western Europe at 75 million hectares. The acquisition of the Xingtai facility gives us a tremendous opportunity to contribute with our specialized agriculture expertise to grow the market mechanization level and raise the productivity of local farms significantly.”

Trelleborg’s program includes the production of a second radial line, Maximo, the new rear radial range for tractors between 40 and 180 hp.

''This new Maximo product line will strengthen Trelleborg’s market position in mature markets like Europe by giving our customers access to a wider portfolio of high quality products at different pricing points,” adds Pompei.