Sales up 18.9% in 2002 for Taiwan's Federal Corp

TAIPEI, Taiwan (Feb. 13)—Taiwanese tire maker Federal Corp. reported an 18.9-percent increase in sales last year, to $122 million, with sales to overseas customers growing at a much higher rate. Sales to markets outside Taiwan and China accounted for $69.2 million, Federal said, up 28.7 percent over 2001 to account for more than half of the firm's overall sales. President Jamie Ma, in a prepared statement, said the company worked to develop more sizes for every tire model, and made significant, undisclosed investments in new equipment. To accommodate strong growth for its high-performance tires, Federal has transferred production of all 70- and 80-series tires to its Jiangxi, China, plant, where manufacturing capacity will double this year