The Yokohama Rubber Co. is establishing a tire research and development center in North Carolina, located in the greater Charlotte area.
Currently YRC conducts research on tires for the North American market in several U.S. states and in Japan, but the company hopes to consolidate these R&D activities with the new center. The consolidation should strengthen the YRC’s R&D ability and accelerate the company’s ability to deliver new tire products to the market, YRC said.
Through the consolidation and opening of a new R&D facility, Yokohama hopes to double the current size of its North American R&D staff.
R&D activities are scheduled to start in September, according to the company. Initially, the new center will design new tires for passenger cars and other consumer applications, but will gradually expand its activities to include testing and evaluation, design of tires for industrial and construction machinery, technical services and quality assurance, the tiremaker said.
