SINGAPORE (Aug. 9, 2012)—Stamford Tyres International Pte. Ltd. and Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. plan to set up a sales joint venture in India.
The company will be called Falken Tyre India Private Ltd. Sumitomo will be the majority shareholder in the 60:40 venture.
The new company will be established as a joint venture between Sumitomo Rubber Asia (Tyre) Pte Ltd., a subsidiary and Asia sales company of Sumitomo Rubber, and Stamford Tyres Corp. Ltd. in Singapore.
The aim is to strengthen sales of replacement tires in India, where the market is expected to keep growing.
The company will start business in April 2013. It is expected to employ about 70 people.
FTI will be setting up its corporate headquarters in India with employees stationed across the country.
It will leverage Sumitomo's proprietary tire technologies and Stamford's distribution capability to address the growing needs of the Indian replacement tire market.
The physical presence of FTI will allow Stamford Tyres to intensify its marketing efforts and establish Falken's brand name among consumers in the Indian market, the companies said.