Sumitomo to open Thai plant for motorbike radials

ERJ staff report (RPN)

Kobe, Japan – Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. plans to spend about $15 million to open a radial motorcycle tire factory in Thailand, reports Rubber & Plastics News.

The Japanese firm's Sumitomo Rubber (Thailand) Co. Ltd. subsidiary is expected to begin producing radial motorcycle tires at a new site at the Amata City Industrial Estate in Rayong Province in January 2014. By the end of 2018, the facility should be producing 64 000 tires a month, Sumitomo said.

Thailand is a major motorcycle producer, and demand is growing in the nation, Sumitomo said. Additionally, the global economic recovery has increased demand for full-size motorcycles throughout Asia.

Sumitomo, which makes radial tires for motorcycles at a factory in Nagoya, Japan, aims to meet the rapidly growing demand for such tires throughout Asia with the addition of the Thailand factory.

Sumitomo Rubber (Thailand) also manufactures radial passenger car tires.