Kenda to build $333M tyre plant

ERJ staff report (R&PN)

TaipeiI, Taiwan -- Taiwanese tyre maker Kenda Rubber Co. Ltd. plans to invest $333 million to build a factory for car, light truck, trailer and motorcycle tyres in the southeast China city of Huizhou, in Guangdong province.

By 2016, the factory will have the capacity to produce 83,000 radial tyres per day, according to Kenda Chairman Yang Ying-ming, who disclosed the plans during a recent meeting of company shareholders.

The plant, set on a 10-acre site, will be Taipei-based Kenda's fifth in China. The firm also has two plants in Taiwana one one in Vietnam.

Kenda also is expanding a plant in Tianjin, where capacity should reach 45,000 tyres daily by mid-2013. That project is valued at nearly $175 million.

With its investments in China and elsewhere, Kenda aims to be one of the world's top 20 tyre makers over the next four years or so. This year, annual revenue is expected to exceed $1 billion.

Kenda ranked No. 28 in the world in 2010 with sales of $911 million.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)

Kenda Rubber of Taiwan Plans New Tire Factory in Huizhou, China from CENS News Service (Taiwan)