Toyo Tire to build R&D center in Germany

WILLICH, Germany—Toyo Tire Corp., which recently disclosed plans for a tire factory in Serbia, has selected Willich, a town in northwest Germany near Duesseldorf, as the site for a European research and development center.

The 27,000-sq.-ft. center will begin operations this fall with an objective of building a strong technical foundation in Europe by strengthening capability of product development, corresponding to the trends of next-generation mobility, Toyo said.

The center will combine material research with technology development and fulfill the function of ensuring the development and production of high-performance, high-value-added tires for the European market.

Europe represents about 15 percent of Toyo's global sales.

The center, which will complement R&D centers in Japan and the U.S., will employ 10 initially. Toyo did not disclose an investment sum for the project but did say it's studying the need for and opportunities to expand the R&D function in Europe beyond this site.

Toyo said the new center will help it support its growth strategy in Europe by expanding its capability of collecting market information in the field of tire-related materials, and the latest technology of tire products driven by the movement of next-generation mobility.

The Hyogo, Japan-based tire maker also pointed out that Europe is home to large numbers of top-ranking automobile manufacturers and automobile-related companies, thus increasing the need for a European base in terms of the quality and fresh information.

Willich is a municipality of about 50,000 inhabitants located about 20 miles west of Duesseldorf and 25 miles east of the Dutch border.