TOKYO (Aug. 2, 2012) —Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) has signed an off-take agreement for OTR and mining tires with Shandong Xingda Tyre Co. Ltd. of Dongying, Shandong, China, covering radial tires in rim diameters of 25 inches and larger.
The agreement calls for Yokohama Rubber to provide Shandong Xingda Tyre with technical support regarding radial OTR tires and for Yokohama to receive a fixed, undisclosed quantity of Yokohama-branded OTR tires manufactured by Shandong Xingda Tyre, to be marketed worldwide.
Technical support should begin this summer, with the off-take production to start in the latter half of 2013, Yokohama said.
Shandong Xingda Tyre is described as a manufacturer founded in 2005 specialized in radial OTR tires with a “large-scale” factory in Dongying, Shandong Province. It produces and sells its products mostly for export, Yokohama said.
At the same time, Yokohama is nearing completion of development work on 49-inch radial OTR tires as part of its strategy to strengthen its position in the global market for such tires, which it said are in “high demand amid the globally accelerating resources development.”
Yokohama produces its own OTR tires at its plant in Onomichi, Japan, where capacity was expanded in 2008-11 to 2,500 metric tons per month in a series of modernization moves representing more than $50 million in investments.
Against this backdrop, YRC said, the partnership with Shandong Xingda Tyre will enable it to increase supply in a short space of time without the need for capital investment.