HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (Nov. 14, 2006) — Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has broken ground for a bias-ply motorcycle and light-truck tire plant in Vietnam that should be on stream by August 2007.
The plant, being built in Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City at a cost of $8.5 million, will be Yokohama's second in Vietnam and will double the firm's production capacity in that country. It will be operated by Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary.
The new plant also will have capacity for industrial and mini-spare tires, demand for which is strong in Japan and other export markets, Yokohama said. The plant initially will span nearly 317,000 square feet, but Yokohama has secured sufficient land to allow that to be doubled.
The plant will have annual capacity of 3,100 metric tons of mixed rubber, or 1.3 million tires, at full capacity in 2008.
Yokohama's existing plant in Vietnam is a joint venture in Ho Chi Minh City with Vietnam´s Southern Rubber Industry Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan. That venture, Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Co., has been making and selling bias motorcycle and light truck tires primarily for the domestic replacement market since 1998.