Sumitomo Strikes Deal with Hwa Fong Rubber
Sumitomo Rubber USA LLC (SRUSA), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI), will sell "certain remaining fixed assets" to Hwa Fong Rubber Ind. Co.
The transaction is scheduled to finalize by the end of 2025.
Based in Taiwan and incoporated in 1959, Hwa Fong Rubber manufactures Duro brand tires.
"This transaction is part of a series of restructuring measures announced on Nov. 7, 2024, regarding the termination of production and dissolution of a consolidated subsidiary," say Sumitomo officials.
In November 2024, Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. (SRNA) shuttered its consumer, TBR and motorcycle tire production facility in Buffalo, N.Y., a plant it had taken over from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in 2015.
SRI, SRNA’s parent company, also announced that it would dissolve USRA.
In a statement issued at the time, SRI said that the “company and its U.S. subsidiaries have cooperated to improve the production structure and operational efficiencies. However, the business environment remains severe due to the deterioration of productivity and profitability at SRUSA and profitability is hard to improve in the long term.
“Based on the assessment that, in the North American market, sale of tires produced at the SRUSA facility could not be profitable, we've decided to discontinue all production activities at SRUSA and dissolve it.”
SRNA’s Buffalo plant was one of the oldest, still-operating tire factories in the U.S., dating back to 1923. It had the capacity to build around 7,300 passenger tires, 2,700 light truck tires and 2,300 TBR tires per day, according to MTD research.
SRI, under its mid-term plan, says it has positioned the current period as a "phase for selection and concentration of existing businesses. The company will continue to allocate and utilize resources toward growth businesses to ensure the future development of the group."
According to SRI officials, research, development and sales activities in the North American market "will continue to be carried out by SRI America Inc. and Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc."