London – First tires are expected to roll out from a new Algerian tire plant in the third quarter of 2018, according to project support firm Black Donuts Engineering.
The first phase of the project will see the production of roughly 2 million passenger car tires a year, said Kai Hauvala, the founder of the Finland-base Black Donuts.
There is “most probably” also a plan to expand the PCR capacity and go into TBR production at a later stage, added Hauvala, whose company is offering technical support for the project.
Algerian consumer electronics and household appliances group Saterex is the owner of the plant, and tires from the facility will go to market under its Iris brand.
As ERJ reported in February 2017, the plant is sited in Sétif, 300km east of Algiers.
Another Finnish company, Cimcorp Oy is supplying its Dream Factory concept, which covers both materials handling and software supply, for the plant.
The new facility was originally expected to operational by spring 2018. It will be the first tire to operate in Algeria since Michelin Group closed its plant in the capital in 2013.
