FAZENDA RIO GRANDE CITY, Brazil (Feb. 16, 2012) — Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI) has broken ground on its car tire factory in Fazenda Rio Grande City, a $345 million project that's supposed to be on stream by the fourth quarter of 2013.
The 5.38-million-sq.ft. plant, with a projected capacity of 15,000 car tires a day, will be built on a 124-acre site in Brazil's Parana State, southwest of Sao Paulo.
SRI President and CEO Ikuji Ikeda presided over the Jan. 27 ceremony attended by about 120 guests, including the governor of Parana State, the mayor of Fazenda Rio Grande City, the Japanese consul general in Curitiba and others.
A new company, Sumitomo Rubber do Brasil Ltda., will oversee the construction and operation of the factory.
SRI said the factory will help it meet “rapidly expanding” auto industry in Central and South America.