Tire technology: Kenda continues investment

GREEN, Ohio—American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. has set high goals for itself in North America, and in just seven months its technical center has grown.

The firm has invested about $2.5 million in populating the center with the necessary equipment and laboratories needed to develop tires catered to the local market. It also has grown in employment, adding seven jobs since its opening to bring its total headcount to 25.

Tom Williams, vice president of engineering at Kenda, said there are plans to hire at least one more person in 2016 with more jobs projected to be added beyond this year.

“The tech center is very vital to our future growth,” said American Kenda President James (Jimmy) Yang, who along with Williams spoke to reporters after an open house at the center on June 20. “Kenda has a very aggressive growth strategy, and we will continue to push our company to the next level.”

Kenda is hiring local engineers, most from the University of Akron. At least three employees during the tour introduced themselves as UA graduates, not counting Williams—also a University of Akron alum. He added the firm has a strong relationship with the university.

Yang echoed Williams' praises of Akron, doing so while wearing Akron-native LeBron James' jersey in honor of the Cavs triumph in the NBA finals. He said the city always has had a reputation for some of the best polymer science technology. He added that he was pleased with the quality of employees that Kenda brings in, especially how quickly some of the newer ones have learned and adapted to the tire industry.

“I am very pleased with the Akron U. candidates that come in here,” Williams said. “We have no trouble filling the jobs we need from that pool of people. We do talk to other universities as well and do have some candidates from other universities. We had one person start this year from Mount Union (University), for instance. So it's not solely Akron U. But there's a reason we're in Akron, Ohio, as a company. It's got the right supply base for people and technology.”

Williams added that the technical center will allow Kenda to bring regionally catered products to market in a quicker fashion. Aiding that is the company's investment in custom catered software, which is proprietary but also necessary to help gear development toward North American requirements.

With the vast size of the continent, there are many different kinds of climates and driving patterns/speed limits that need to be taken into account, ranging from cold zones, deserts, mountain regions and a population that tends to drive faster than most other countries.

“There's a lot of software available on the market you can buy. The problem is very little of it is truly geared to handle the development of tires,” Williams said. “Usually it's the beginning point, not the endpoint. Because of that, we have to create our own in-house software that modifies and adds to that capability of the existing software.”

Kenda hopes to leverage the North American market into future growth. Yang said the center gives Kenda credibility, which will help it gain business with North American original equipment manufacturers. Yang wants Kenda to be a top 20 tire manufacturer and continue to grow from there.

The firm, which is based in Yuanlin, Taiwan, reported tire sales of about $1.17 billion in 2014. That placed it 28th in Rubber & Plastics News' 2015 Global Tire Report, a worldwide ranking of the 75 largest tire manufacturers. Last year's 20th-ranked firm (Shandong Linglong Rubber Co. Ltd.) reported sales just north of $1.67 billion.

Europe is also part of Kenda's global growth strategy as it recently opened a technical center in the region. Yang said the firm is in the process of building that center in a similar fashion to the one in the Akron area. Kenda has hired one engineer and has yet to select a site.

As for U.S. manufacturing, Yang hasn't ruled it out. However, he added that it is not in Kenda's immediate future. The open house solely was focused on the company's progress in North America, showcasing it to its key distributors.

“We took this opportunity to showcase Kenda's commitments and technical abilities,” he said. “With this technical center, we're telling our distributors we can design products that meet the requirements of the local market much, much quicker with engineers who are locally located.”

American Kenda is a subsidiary of Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. The firm focuses on bicycle, industrial product, wheelchair and motorcycle tires. It has been branching out into the passenger car radial, light truck radial and truck and bus radial tire markets in the last few years, which is the primary reason for the company's added investment in research and development.

Yang said the firm has manufacturing in Taiwan, China, Indonesia and recently broke ground on a facility in Vietnam.