PERAK, Malaysia—Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. has completed work on its $260 million passenger and light truck tire plant in Perak, with production expected to hit or exceed 200,000 tires a month before the end of the year.
The new plant was built on land adjacent to the Silverstone Bhd.tire plant that Toyo acquired in early 2011 and is considered a key part of Toyo's plan to achieve global supply of 45 million tires a year by 2015.
Production will start at about 2.5 million units a year in the first few years, double to 5 million units a year by 2016 and double again as demand requires, Toyo said. The plant uses Toyo's proprietary Advanced Tire Operation Module production system.
The plant's output initially will be targeted at Malaysia, the neighboring countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations countries and other regions, Toyo said when it announced its plan to build the factory.
Toyo President Akira Nobuki hosted a ceremony on May 8 to mark the completion of the plant. The ceremony was attended by around 350 guests, included Japan's ambassador to Malaysai, Shigeru Nakamura; Dr. Rebecca Fatimasta Maria, secretary general of Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade & Industry; and Toyo Chairman and Representative Director Kenji Nakakura.
In remarks made at the ceremony, Nakakura said: "We will take full advantage of Japanese technology in order to achieve Japanese quality here in Malaysia and supply world-class, high-performance, fuel-efficient tires from this plant."
By employing its ATOM process at the Perak plant, Toyo said it expects to achieve:
Energy efficiency through state-of-the-art tire production technology and ecologically friendly measures including use of solar power and LED lighting in the administrative offices;
High quality by using equipment and systems already in use at other Toyo plants that minimize variation; and
High productivity through precisely controlled manufacturing systems that also are considered operator-friendly and thus not dependent upon specialized skill.
Toyo did not disclose the number employees at the plant, which operates under the auspices of Toyo Tyre Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Toyo's local subsidiary.