Giti marks start of production at South Carolina plant

RICHBURG, S.C.—South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Greg Foran, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. president and CEO, were on hand to help Giti Tire Group mark the start of production at the firm's $560 million, 1.7 million-sq.-ft. Richburg tire plant and distribution center.

The plant, originally announced in early 2015, is scheduled to produce several hundred thousand Dextero-branded passenger tires for Wal-Mart. Production should ramp up to several million passenger and light truck tires in 2018, according to Giti Tire (USA) Ltd.

Enki Tan, Giti Tire Group chairman, said his firm's investment in the plant "demonstrates our firm commitment to North American customers." He lauded the "extensive infrastructure network" in Chester County and a commitment to a highly skilled workforce.

Foran's appearance at the event is connected with Wal-Mart's $250 billion "America at Work" initiative. Boston Consulting

"By investing in products that support American jobs, we were able to bring products to our shelves that our customers want and new jobs to the communities we serve," Foran said.

The South Carolina company, Giti Manufacturing (USA) Ltd., plans to have 400 employees by year-end, 1,000 by year-end 2018 and 1,700 at full capacity. The plant's first-phase nameplate capacity is 5 million tires.

The plant is scheduled to make Dextero-, GT Radial- and Giti-brand tires, the latter of which is a new brand to be launched in 2018.

A second-phase capacity expansion will be market-driven, the company said.

The manufacturing company works closely with York Technical College in Rock Hill, S.C., to recruit workers for the factory.

Giti Tire USA recently disclosed it had earned an OE fitment with Volkswagen of America for tires that will be manufactured at the new plant. The premium all-season Giti ComfortA1 will be OE fitment in sizes 235/45R18 95H and 235/40R19 92H on the 2019 VW Passat is manufactured in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Singapore-headquartered Giti Tire Group is world's 11th largest tire maker, based on 2016 sales of $3.03 billion, according to Rubber & Plastics News' annual global tire rankings.