Yokohama Rubber holds tree planting ceremony at Philippines tyre plant

TOKYO (Sept. 16, 2008) - Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. staged a tree planting ceremony Aug. 23 at its Yokohama Tire Philippines Inc. factory as part of the company's “Yokohama Forever Forest” project.

The Tokyo-based tire maker said the ceremony at the passenger tire plant was the first such event at an overseas location. It plans to follow with tree plantings at its Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co. Ltd. plant in China in November and at Yokohama Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co. Ltd. in December.

Yokohama has completed the first phase of its tree planting program at six plants in Japan, except for its Shinshiro factory, where the company will plant trees in May 2009.

Through the project, Yokohama said it is creating forests over a 10-year period at production sites in Japan and around the world in anticipation of the company's 100th anniversary in 2017. A total of 500,000 trees will be planted at seven Japanese plants and at 11 group companies in other countries.

About 800 people attended the Philippine tree planting event. Guests from Japan included Yasuo Tominaga, Yokohama Rubber senior adviser, and Akira Miyawaki, an ecologist and professor emeritus of Yokohama National University, as well as Hikomitsu Noji, president of Yokohama Tire Philippines.

After an explanation from Dr. Miyawaki on how to plant the trees, Yokohama said participants were divided into groups and planted 40 varieties of about 6,000 trees.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)

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