MESNAC to open Research and Technical Center in the US

ERJ staff report (TP)

Akron – MESNAC announced on 1 November that it will open a Research and Technical Center in Akron, Ohio. This facility will be an extension of MESNAC’s recently established Research Institute based in Qingdao, China. The focus of the USA facility will be to develop equipment, processes and systems more closely aligned to the requirements of its customers based in North and Latin America.

MESNAC is the world’s second largest producer of equipment for the rubber and tire industry, and was founded at Qingdao University of Science and Technology. Its global reach extends to all major tire and rubber producers. MESNAC has a similar R&D centre based in Slovakia, which supports its European customer base.

The Chairman and founding member of the MESNAC group Yuan Zhongxue said: “MESNAC’s scientific and technology heritage is what drives our company and has been the basis of our success for the first 12 years of our history. As we expand into the global market, for us, it is only natural that we should do this with an R&D foundation that allows our company to develop materials and technology that are aligned with the needs of our North and Latin America customers. What better place to do that than in the home of USA tire and rubber technology in Akron, Ohio?”

The new facility will provide employment for multi-skilled personnel including equipment engineers, material researchers, systems analysts and software engineers. Recruitment will start in November and the first phase of the development will employ approximately 30 specialists by mid-2014.

The centre forms parts of MESNAC’s expansion into the USA market and follows their acquisitions of Wyko Tire Technology (Greenback, Tennessee) in 2011 and TMSI (Akron, Ohio) in 2013.