DHAKA, Bangladesh (April 22, 2016) — Beijing Research & Design Institute of Rubber Industry (BRDIRI) and Bangladeshi industrial conglomerate Jamuna Group have started construction on what they claim is the country's first tire plant, according to ChemChina Academy of Sciences.
The project, announced on March 26, is expected to be completed and put into production in May 2018, with the designed annual production capacity of 350,000 all-steel heavy truck radial tires, 500,000 semi-steel passenger car radial tires, 400,000 diagonal tires and 750,000 sets of inner tubes and rim bands.
BRDIRI is owned by ChemChina Academy of Science and provides tire and non-tire services in research and development, sales, machinery and testing.
ChemChina described the Beijing Research & Design Institute, founded in 1955, as China's oldest and largest state-level scientific research and design institute for the rubber industry. “It can grant a master's degree in polymer materials and has a reputation that extends outside China,” the company's website said.
“It is a very important milestone and also a very important investment for Jamuna Group to diversify its industrial structure and layout,” said Jamuna General Manager Shamim Islam at the kick-off ceremony.
“ChemChina has actively participated in domestic construction, in particular chemical projects in Bangladesh,” said Chen Hong, GM of ChemChina Academy of Sciences.
The plant will be spread over the 200-acre Jamuna Industrial Park in east Bangladesh.
Indian tire maker CEAT announced in 2013 that it was building a production plant in Bangladesh to manufacture light and medium truck tires as well as two-wheeler tires in the country. The company has not issued any recent updates on the status of the project.
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Ms. Pourriahi is a reporter for European Rubber Journal, a United Kingdom-based sister publication of Tire Business.