AKRON (Oct. 27, 2012) — Goodyear has initiated production of radial commercial truck tires at its plant in Pulandian, Liaoning Province, China, where production of car tires started in 2011 three years after the company broke ground on the $700 million factory.
At the same time, Goodyear has ceased production at its original plant in China, in nearby Dalian. Goodyear first announced plans in June 2008 to close Dalian — citing its inability to expand the plant because of its location in a congested part of Dalian — and replace it with a larger, more modern plant.
Goodyear said the new plant nearly doubles the capacity of the Dalian plant, where capacity was listed as 15,000 tires a day, or approximately 5.4 million a year. The plant eventually will be capable of producing 1 million truck tires a year, Goodyear said in 2011.
Employment at Pulandian is listed as 1,800, up measurably over the 500 listed at the Dalian plant.
Goodyear said the expanded capacity at Pulandian and a growing distribution network in China will help its business in Asia, which accounts for 11 percent of the firm's global sales.
A year ago, Goodyear said its goal was to increase the number of outlets selling its brands in five key cities to 1,100 by 2012, up from 700 in 2010. Those outlets should sell 100,000 units a month by next year, up from roughly 78,000 during 2010, he said.