Yokohama breaks ground on P/LT tire plant in Mexico

SALTILLO, Mexico—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.'s North American footprint is growing.

The tire maker on April 15 celebrated breaking ground on a passenger vehicle/light truck tire plant in Saltillo, which is expected to come online in 2027. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will have capacity for about 5 million tires annually. The move will expand its North American P/LT capacity by about 75 percent.

Jeff Barna, president and CEO of Yokohama Tire Corp., the North American arm of YRC, noted the plant will position the tire maker to serve the North American market more efficiently and sustainably.

"With the establishment of this factory, we are not only bringing our products closer to our local customers, but also enhancing the quality and accessibility of our offerings," Barna said.

The new factory will sit on a 150-acre site in the Alianza Industrial Park. Yokohama did not provide specifics about the size of the plant, but it did note last month it had earmarked about $380 million for the construction of the facility.

The expansion is proof of Yokohama's commitment to the North American market, according to company officials.

When the Saltillo plant comes online it will be the tire maker's third on the continent. Yokohama operates a P/LT plant in Salem, Va., and truck/bus plant West Point, Miss., in supplying the North American market.

The Salem plant has an annual capacity of about 6.5 million units per year.

The West Point plant, producing truck/bus tires, has a capacity of around 750,000 tires per year.

Yokohama also has a significant ag tire presence through its $2.3 billion purchase of Trelleborg Wheel Systems, a deal completed in May 2023. That acquisition brought an ag tire plant in Spartanburg, S.C., and a Mitas-branded ag tire facility in Charles City, Iowa.

The capacity of the Spartanburg factory is unknown, while the Mitas plant has a rated capacity of 13,500 units a year.

With global tire sales of around $5.7 billion in 2022, Yokohama is the eighth largest tire maker globally, according to Rubber News' Global Tire Report.