DEMAK CITY, Indonesia — Sailun Group Co. Ltd. broke ground recently on a previously announced tire plant in Demak city, Central Java province.
First disclosed in March, the $250 million project will have a rated capacity of 3 million passenger tires, 600,000 truck/bus tires and 37,000 metric tons of off-highway tires.
Once completed, the plant will enhance "the competitiveness and influence of Chinese tire brands in Southeast Asia and the global market," Sailun added.
The groundbreaking at Jiateng Industrial Park comes five months after Sailun Group broke ground on a factory in Mexico. The two new factories will be Sailun's third and fourth outside of China; the others are in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Sailun, the No. 10 tire maker worldwide based on fiscal 2023 sales of $3.6 billion, also three factories in China.
The projects in Mexico and Indonesia will further strengthen the group's position globally, according to deputy general manager for production, Cao Guoqiang.
As reported earlier, Sailun expects construction to take about 21 months and aims to tap into Indonesia's "abundant labor and natural resources," which provide "unique advantages" for the tire industry.
Sailun is the second Chinese tire maker to announce expansion into Indonesia over the recent months.
In February, China's largest tire producer ZC Rubber unveiled plans to build a tire facility in the country.
