BANGKOK, Thailand (Oct. 17) — Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. has established Dunlop Tire (Thailand) Co. Ltd., a Bangkok-based sales company designed to support the firm´s decision to build a tire plant there.
The new company, a joint venture involving Sumitomo Corp. and local partners, started operations Sept. 1. Sumitomo expects the venture to capture a 10-percent market share in the passenger and light truck tire markets through sales promotions and building a retail network.
Sumitomo is building a passenger tire plant in Thailand´s Rayong Province that is due on stream later this year. The plant, which is using Sumitomo´s "Taiyo" production system, will start at about 12,000 tires a day and ramp up to 22,000 by 2010, Sumitomo said when it announced the plant´s construction.