In an update on the company’s recent activities, China’s Shandong Linglong Tire Co. said that by the end of November, 18 of its Linglong and Leao brand radial medium truck tires will have been EPA SmartWay-verified for low rolling resistance.
The verified tires include steer, drive and trailer axle products.
According to Tire Review statistics, Shandong Linglong’s 2011 revenue places it as the world’s 19th largest tiremaker and fourth largest in China. The company currently has more than 6,000 employees – 700 in R&D alone – and production capacity of 35 million passenger, light truck/SUV, medium truck and specialty tires per year.
The company also announced that its new Green-Max tire passenger tire recently received favorable marks in an independent testing by the Norwegian Automobile Federation. According to Shandong Linglong, its Green-Max “performed superbly when compared with well-known European tire manufacturers. The test result stated that the ‘Linglong is the best Chinese tire we’ve ever tested.’”
The tiremaker said it expects 2012 revenues to reach $2 billion, and it is investing heavily on R&D activities. “Innovation, research and development produce good quality tires,” company officials said, and toward that end Shandong Linglong is constructing what it claims is “the largest indoor high-speed endurance testing center in China.” Plus, Shandong Linglong said it was constructing outdoor tire test tracks. When that project is completed, the tiremaker said it would be the first Chinese tiremaker to use its own outdoor tracks to test and certify tires.
