Toyo to close Malaysian tire manufacturing unit

Hyogo, Japan – Toyo Tire Corp. is to end production at its Malaysian tire manufacturing subsidiary 
Silverstone Berhad (Perak, Malaysia) in June, the company has announced.

The wholly-owned subsidiary will subsequently be dissolved, according to the 15 Feb statement from Takashi Shimizu, president & CEO of Itami City, Hyogo-based Toyo

Silverstone Berhad manufactures tires for new vehicles and Silverstone brand tires for aftermarket use, primarily for automakers in Malaysia, as well as certain Toyo Tires brand tires. 

According to Toyo, the closure decision was “unavoidable [given] the operating environment, the position of the plant in our global strategy and its production capacity from an all-round perspective.”

Production of certain Silverstone brand products from the closed unit will be transferred will to Toyo Tire Malaysia Sdn Bhd (TTM), the group’s other manufacturing subsidiary in Malaysia

TMM produces Toyo brand tires and “functions as a global hub”, supplying tires to south east Asia, North America, Europe, and Japan, Toyo pointed out. 

Toyo has booked an extraordinary loss for the closure and dissolution of Silverstone Berhad of Yen6,270 million (€49 million) for fiscal year ended 31 Dec 2020.

The unit posted an operating losses of MYR35,388,395 (€7.2 million) and MYR9,067,069 in 2019 and 2020 respectively with sales falling by 29% last year. 

The dissolution procedure will be commenced by 31 Dec and carried out in accordance with local laws and regulations, noted the company statement.