OSAKA, Japan (Aug. 14, 2012) — Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. is planning a new technical center in Kawanishi City, Japan, that will consolidate existing tech centers in Ibaraki City and Itami City, Japan.
The new unit will combine basic research and applied research in tire technologies, Toyo said, and is being designed to be aligned closely with manufacturing and marketing functions to speed up the process of developing a tire for market.
The new center also will allow Toyo to promote the creation of new technology and new materials while also conducting environment research.
The new center will occupy nearly nearly 237,000 square feet of a facility in Hyogo Prefecture that Toyo acquired recently. The consolidation should be complete by November 2013, Toyo said. The investment was not disclosed.
The existing tech center in Ibaraki focuses on basic research while the center in Itami was more involved in tire development.
This report appeared on the website of European Rubber Journal, a U.K.-based sister publication of Tire Business.