DAHEJ, India (Dec. 19, 2014) — Alliance Tire Group (ATG) has inaugurated production at its newest factory, a $150 million plant in Dahej, Gujarat, dedicated to making off-highway tires.
The new plant, Alliance's second in India, is rated at 54,000 metric tons a year at full capacity. The plant will have capacity for both radial and bias-ply tires, up to 54-inch rim diameters, a spokesman said.
James Clark, president of Alliance Tire Americas, was on hand at a traditional Indian blessing ceremony at the plant recently and together with the members of the ATG board of directors signed the factory's first tire.
ATG said the facility is equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing and testing equipment and was designed to be energy efficient and produce zero effluent discharge. ATG broke ground on the plant in January 2013.
Its location near ports on Gujarat's west coast ensure a steady flow of raw materials to the plant as well as educe shipping time of finished goods, Mr. Clark said.
The plant is located on a 115-acre site, ensuring there will be room for expansion.
With 2013 sales of $575 million, ATG is the world's No. 46 tire maker, according to Tire Business' annual ranking of tire manufacturers. It claims to be the No. 6 off-highway tire manufacturer.
ATG's other factories are in Hadera, Israel, and Tirunelveli, India. The company, which goes to market with the Alliance, Galaxy and Primex brands, has R&D facilities in Israel, India and the U.S. United States.