Goodyear completes Slovenia tire plant expansion

KRANJ, Slovenia—Goodyear has completed the $107 million expansion project at its Dunlop Sava Tires plant in Kranj.

In March, "the Slovenian government issued the final operating permit to Goodyear Slovenia, which denotes completion of the project," a Goodyear spokeswoman said.

The project "took slightly longer than planned due to the disruption of the global pandemic," she added in a 24 April 24 statement to European Rubber Journal.

The project, originally disclosed in late 2018, aimed to increase capacity at the facility by about 25 percent by 2022 to target rising demand for tires in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It included the addition of building equipment for 17- to 19-inch rim diameter tires. The project, expected to create 160 jobs, was slated to add 58,000 square feet to the site and raise capacity by up to 1.8 million units per year.

Launching the project, Goodyear scheduled the first phase of construction for early 2019, with additional phases set for 2020 and 2021 "to reach full capacity."

According to the 2022 Global Tire Report, the Kranj facility has capacity to produce 20,000 units per day of light vehicle and truck/bus tires.

Since buying into Sava Tires in 1998, Goodyear said it has invested over $300 million to develop the Kranj tire-making facility.

The Slovenia factory was built in 1956 by the Yugoslav state-owned company operating under the Sava name.

In the late 1960s, it partnered with the Austrian tire maker Semperit and then later with Continental A.G. after the German group purchased Semperit Reifen in 1985.

Goodyear acquired the full ownership of the plant in 2004.