HYOGO, Japan—Toyo Tire Corp. is moving forward with plans to start up its greenfield tire production plant in Indjija City, Serbia, by April 2022.
In preparation for the "full-scale start-up," the company has transferred the "Europe project development department" from its business headquarters to the production headquarters.
Toyo said the move, effective July 1, is intended to strengthen cooperation between the unit and those on the shop floor.
The tire maker broke ground on the new plant in December and expects to ramp up production to full capacity by the summer of 2023, producing 5 million tires per year. Many of the tires made at the plant will be designed and developed at Toyo's new R&D center in Germany, the company said previously.
The $461 million plant will be Toyo's eighth manufacturing site and will mark the tire maker's "first step" in driving its recently unveiled global growth strategy.
As part of the strategy, Toyo opened its European R&D centre in November 2019 to support its target of raising production capacity by 8 million units per year by 2023.