Yokohama to build new tire plant in India

Yokohama Rubber plans to build a new industrial tire plant in Vishakhapatnam, India, Andhra Pradesh for $165 million.

It will reportedly be Yokohama's eighth industrial tire plant. Its production capacity will be 55 tons of tires per day.

The start of construction of the plant is scheduled for the third quarter of 2020, and production is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.

The Indian plant will be operated by Yokohama's ATG (Alliance Tire Group), which is seeing increased demand for its ORT tires.

ATG currently owns two tire factories in India - one in Dahej, Gujarat and one in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. They produce tires for agricultural, construction, industrial and forestry equipment.

The new investment follows the 2018 Dahej manufacturing plant expansion project, which increased ATG's total production capacity by 60%.

In addition to Indian businesses, Yokohama has three industrial tires in Japan, one in Israel and one in Vietnam. Upon completion of construction, the Visakhapatnam plant will increase Yokohama's total production capacity in this segment to 480 tonnes per day.

As part of the Grand Design 2020 (GD2020) mid-term development plan, Yokohama is positioning ORT tires as the company's “growth engine” and is therefore looking to expand this business. In addition to ATG, it includes Aichi Tire Industry, which manufactures tires for industrial equipment.