The Yokohama Rubber Co. is investing roughly 3.7 billion yen to increase its production capacity for high-performance tires at its Shinshiro City plant in Japan.
YRC plans to produce high-performance tires in size 18-inch diameter and larger, and increase production capacity by 20%. Currently, the Shinshiro Plant and nearby Shinshiro-Minami Plant produce a combined 16.9 million tires a year.
The company said it decided to invest in the expansion as demand for large high-performance tires continues to increase in the global replacement market and as OE.
The company said it will begin construction on a new line in May and start production in June 2017. Output will gradually increase to full capacity by April 2018.
The Shinshiro Plant is YRC’s plant with the largest annual production capacity for passenger car tires.