Prinx Addresses Thailand Plant Situation
Prinx Chengshan Holdings Ltd. has issued a statement about a situation at one of its plants in Thailand. Production at the plant was halted on Aug. 1 due to supposed carbon black and waste issues.
The company's statement, issued on Aug. 4, says that its "wholly-owned subsidiary Prinx Chengshan Tire (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Prinx Thailand) has recently received a temporary suspension notice (the ‘Notice’) from the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (‘IEAT’) in respect of its tire production base in Thailand primarily because the packaging of carbon black is alleged to have breached Thailand industrial waste disposal regulations and because the expansion production line is pending waste emissions inspection acceptance. Prinx Thailand has therefore temporarily suspended its tire production base pending adoption of remedial measures and resolution of the matter. Prinx Thailand has instructed counsel to handle the matter. At the same time, Prinx Thailand is in active negotiations with the IEAT to clarify and resolve the matter as soon as practicable and it expects to have more clarity on the period of closure in one to two weeks’ time.
"The Company is still in the process of assessing the impact of the Notice on the financial condition of the Group (although it is not expected to have a material impact on the Group’s financial condition if the suspension is not prolonged). The Company will disclose the progress of the resumption of production and related circumstances in due course in accordance with the requirements of the Listing Rules.”
An executive from Prinx Chengshan Tire North America (PCTNA) also sent a memo to the company's Fortune and Prinx brand customers, stating that Prinx Chengshan Tire’s “goal is to have this situation settled” by Aug. 5. “We recognize that having no production for five days is an issue, but with current inventory levels, we believe that we can make this deficit up in short order” as “tires that have been produced are shipping as scheduled.”
In addition, “there is no evidence of any of these tires being sent to the United States and/or Canada.
"Prinx Chengshan Tire North America remains committed to providing high-quality products within all governmental standards.”