Sentury to build tire storage and experience centre

Qingdao, China – Qingdao Sentury Tire is to build a €44-million (340-million yuan) facility named Digital Tire Ecosystem Management and Experience Centre in Qingdao, Shandong province.

The project, still pending regulatory approval, is scheduled to begin construction in June 2020 and start operation in December 2022, said a company announcement in April.

The centre will include a digital automatic storage and retrieval system, a fully automated sorting system and an experience center for customers to test tire performance.

This is an attempt to extend the company’s smart technology from manufacturing to the after end, said the announcement.

It is part of Sentury’s ‘833plus’ global expansion strategy, aiming for a total of eight manufacturing sites, three research centres and three 'customer-experience' facilities within ten years.

The new project is the first of the three 'customer-experience' centres, and the other two will include one for product exhibition and one focusing on small-sized tires.

ERJ has requested further information from Sentury about this development.