Toyo to boost North American R&D efforts

OSAKA, Japan (Jan. 11, 2017) — Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. is planning to expand its research and development capabilities in North America throughout 2017.

In doing so, the tire maker plans to increase employment at its North American R&D center, which is located at its plant in White, Ga. Toyo expects to add workers at each stage of the expansion, increasing employment by 50 percent, adding jobs in product planning, product design and commercialization.

The company did not specify how many R&D-related jobs it plans to add nor how many it has currently at the White plant.

Toyo also plans to add equipment to measure and evaluate the static and dynamic properties of the tire and to accelerate product evaluation and feedback into the development process.

Toyo did not quantify the expected investment in this initiative, which is being undertaken to "to fortify its North American business, which represents 46 percent of its global sales, or roughly $1.6 billion in fiscal 2015.

In a prepared statement, Toyo said the initiative would put it in a "better position to expedite development of both original equipment and replacement tires that more closely meets customer needs, and thereby increase the value of its North American tire operations."

The company did not quantify its growth expectations for the American business.

By creating a "more effective and rapid regional product development capability," Toyo said its Tire Group will be able to take a "more direct and meticulous approach to meeting market needs."

Toyo also noted its North American tire operations develop tires for local markets in collaboration with its Tire Technical Center located at the firm's global R&D headquarters in Itami City, Japan.

With the completion of a Phase Four expansion of the White plant in 2016, that facility is capable of producing up to 11.5 million car tires annually, making the plant the largest among Toyo's manufacturing network.

To bolster its business focus on North America further, Toyo Tire has created a North America Business Development Division at its Osaka headquarters. This unit will be involved directly with promoting the North American business and enable swift decision-making and appropriate management of the business, the company said.