TOKYO-Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. plans to build a plant in Vietnam during the next 13 months to make bias-ply motorcycle and light truck tires, effectively doubling its existing capacity in Vietnam for these products.
Yokohama said it has budgeted $9 million for the 323,000-sq.-ft. factory, to be built in Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City. The company has secured 160 acres of land for facility and future expansion.
The plant should be on stream by June 2007, Yokohama said, with an annual production capacity of 3,100 metric tons of mixed rubber. A newly created wholly owned subsidiary, Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Inc., will operate the factory.
Yokohama´s existing plant in Vietnam is a joint venture in Ho Chi Minh City with Vietnam´s Southern Rubber Industry Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan. That venture, Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Co., has been making and selling bias motorcycle and light truck tires primarily for the domestic replacement market since 1998.
Local demand has outstripped that factory´s capacity, necessitating the need for more capacity, Yokohama said. The company also plans to use the new plant to produce industrial vehicle tires for the replacement market in Japan and mini spare tires for Japanese car makers.