Maxxis planning 2nd new plant in China

ERJ staff report (TB)

Taiyuan, Taiwan -- Cheng Shin Rubber Co. Ltd./Maxxis International is ramping up its expansion strategy plans in China, disclosing plans for a second new plant there that could be turning out 30,000 tyres a day by 2011/2012.

The latest announcement, concerning a plant in Xiamen, comes just weeks after the company disclosed plans for a $300 million plant in Chong Qing. Both plants will be engineered for producing 30,000 consumer tyres a day, the company said.

Cheng Shin/Maxxis said both new plants - its fifth and sixth in China - will be based on the design of its six-year-old Maxxis International (Thailand) Co. Ltd. factory in Thailand's Rayong Province. Both will be designed to serve the needs of the company's export and domestic markets, including OE requirements.

The Taiwan tyre maker did not disclose the projected investment for the plant in Xiamen, where the firm already operates two factories, including one that's been open since 1992.

Its other plants in China are in Kun Shan and Tianjin. It also operates tyre factories in Thailand, Vietnam and its native Taiwan.

Maxxis is considered the world's 10th largest tyre maker with 2009 sales of $2.72 billion. It is represented in North America by Maxxis International in Suwanee, Ga.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)