KIRSEHIR, Turkey (Aug. 11, 2015) — Citing rising demand for car tires in Turkey, Turkish tire maker Petlas Tire Corp. is evaluating the possibility of building a second plant “in the near future,” according to a senior company official.
Oguz Ay, general director for international sales, disclosed the company's interest in a second plant while discussing the completion of a multi-year expansion project at its 38-year-old plant complex in Kirsehir.
Once completed, the expansion will nearly triple radial truck/bus tire capacity and boost agricultural tire capacity by 10 percent. Petlas did not disclose the size of its investment in the project.
“Turkey is the only European country where demand for TBR tires is on the rise,” Mr. Ay said, adding that demand for TBR tires is growing 5 to 10 percent annually in Turkey.
“Therefore, we are expanding our TBR capacity three-fold to meet the growing demand,” he said.
Petlas' Kirsehir plant is rated at 8 million car tires, 2 million agricultural tires, 500,000 TBR tires and 300,000 OTR tires annually. The company has invested nearly $775 million since 2005 to increase capacity, he said.
As for passenger tires, Mr. Ay said that “many leading automobile manufacturers in Turkey are expanding their production capacities as well as establishing new production facilities in the country.”
TechSci Research forecast in a 2014 report that the country's tire industry was to grow at around 8 percent annually through 2019 and that the industry would be dominated by passenger tires.
Mr. Ay did not comment on the location or the time-frame for a new plant, but said the current slow markets and conflicts in the Middle East region may delay the decision-making process.
Petlas faces increasing competition in Turkey. Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. recently opened a $500 million joint venture car and light truck tire plant in Cankiri, Turkey, and Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. is building a $290 million car tire plant in Aksaray Province that is due on stream in early 2018.
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This report appeared in European Rubber Journal, a United Kingdom-based sister publication of Tire Business.
