HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has started building a bias-ply motorcycle and light-truck tire plant that should start up by August 2007.
The factory at the Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City will cost $8.5 million and be Yokohama´s second in Vietnam, the Japanese tire maker said. The facility will double the firm´s production capacity in that country, and will be operated by Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary.
The plant also will have capacity for industrial and mini-spare tires, demand for which is strong in Japan and other export markets, Yokohama said. The operation initially will span nearly 317,000 square feet, but Yokohama has secured sufficient land to allow that to be doubled.
The factory will have an annual production capacity of 1.3 million tires when it is operating at full capacity in 2008, the firm said.
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. It has been making and selling bias motorcycle and light truck tires primarily for the domestic replacement market since 1998.