CHANGSHU, China (May 22, 2008) – Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. will invest about $135 million through year-end 2010 to increase capacity 20 percent in Changshu.
The project will increase daily output to 33,500 tires, 30,000 passenger tires and 3,500 truck/bus tires, at the factory in Jiangsu Province, the company said.
This is Sumitomo's second expansion at the plant, which opened in 2004. In 2006 it announced plans to spend between $89 million and $126 million to quadruple passenger tire output to its present level of about 25,000 units a day and add capacity for truck tires.
At the same time, Sumitomo will halve the proportion of output slated for export to 30 percent, in the wake of a change last year in China's preferential export tax rate-to 12 percent from 4 percent-on radial tires.
The plant operates as Sumitomo Rubber (Changshu) Co. Ltd.