TOKYO (Aug. 21, 2009)—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has selected a 59-acre plot south of Moscow as the the site for a $150 million passenger tire factory that should be in operation by the third quarter of 2011.
Yokohama has agreed to operate the plant, to be built in a special economic zone in the state of Lipetsk, in an 80-20 joint venture with Japanese trading company Itochu Corp. The new company, Yokohama R.P.Z. L.L.C., is capitalized at $118 million, the firms said.
The site is about 350 miles south of Moscow. Construction is scheduled to start in March 2010. Start-up capacity is listed as 1.4 million units a year by September 2011. The companies did not state why they chose this site nor what the expected employment would be.
Yokohama and Itochu also have agreed to increase the latter's investment ratio in Yokohama Russia L.L.C., a tire sales company jointly established by the companies in April 2005 in Moscow, to 20 percent from 14.9 percent. This action is aimed at manufacturing and selling Yokohama tires in Russia through closer cooperation, the companies said.