Yokohama to invest up to P27B in expansion of Clark tire plant

MANILA, Philippines –  Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. will invest a total of Y50 billion or P27 billion to increase its production capacity at its plant inside Clark Freeport zone to 10 million tires a year.

Yokohama is currently producing seven million units since its operations in 1996.

The expansion would commence once Yokohama signs an agreement with Clark Development Corp. for the construction of a new tire plant   adjacent to the existing plant this February.

The company said it plans to operate the area’s first expanded portion in 2013 and make the area fully operable in 2014.

The amount of investment in the first-phase expansion is Y20 billion which the rubber tire firm plans to increase its annual production capacity to 17 million tires by 2017 after making an investment to increase the capacity to 13 million by 2014 as the second-phase expansion, making the total amount of investment approximately Y50 billion

Most of the tires to be produced are planned for export to North American markets. The new tenancy contract for 300,000 square meters gives Yokohama a total plant area of 460,000 square meters, 2.8 times of that of its current area.

Established in 1996 as the manufacturing base for passenger car tires for export markets in Clark, Yokohama is currently manufacturing tires with internal diameters from 13 to 18 inches for passenger cars and sports utility vehicles(SUVs) and most of the tires are being exported to Europe, North America, and ASEAN countries.

The tires are also delivered to car manufacturers in countries in North America and Asia.

At present, Yokohama Rubber is expanding the production capacities at Shinshiro-Minami Plant in Japan, Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co. Ltd. in China, Yokohama Rubber Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and Yokohama Tire Corp. in the United States. In addition, the company is working on the construction of a tire plant in Russia for its planned operation starting in the fiscal year ending March 2012.