DMack to build greenfield tire plant

LONDON—Sport tire supplier DMack is planning to build a new tire plant in England in a bid to up its game in the World Rally Championships, according to a senior official of the firm.

The project is roughly estimated to cost roughly $440 million, although feasibility studies are incomplete and a final figure is not determined.

“We are going through a period of development and evolution and are planning to improve our brand to compete with the likes of Pirelli and Michelin,” communications director Glenn Patterson said.

Carlisle, England-based DMack has been supplying competition rally tires since 2011, sourced mainly from China's Shandong Yongtai Chemical Group, in Dongying Province.

“The company currently manufactures a small amount of tires in the U.K., at Cooper Tire's factory in Melksham, Wiltshire. But we plan to increase our capacity for premium tires in the U.K., and that's why we are building the plant,” Patterson said.

The name DMack is derived from the business' owner, Dick Cormack, an entrepreneur who started the company in 2010 as an alternative to tire makers Michelin and Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.

The company produces a “small amount” of tires in the U.K., at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s factory in Melksham, England, Patterson said, “but we plan to increase our capacity for premium tires in the U.K., and that's why we are building the plant.”

Carlisle, a town in northwest England close to the Scotland border, is potentially one of the locations for the plant. Another undisclosed location in southern England is also under consideration.

According to Patterson, the new plant will also be manufacturing passenger car tires in addition to motor sport tires, and is scheduled to take “a couple of years” to build.

“We are expecting to employ 500 people by the time we are running at full capacity,” he added.

Patterson did break down the planned tire production or the total capacity of the plant, but a local media outlet suggested a final production capacity of 2 million units a year.

“We are still holding key meetings and within the next six to eight weeks we should know better,” said Patterson, when asked about the selection of technology-suppliers for the project.

Finnish tire consulting company Black Donuts is advising DMACK on the design and engineering of the plant, which according to Patterson will be a state-of-the-art unit.