Goodyear's new China plant starts trial production

ERJ staff report (TB)

New York -- Goodyear has begun trial production of passenger tyres at its new Pulandian factory in Dalian, China, the company's first step toward doubling annual car tyre capacity in China to more than 10 million units by 2015.

Goodyear also has raised the value of the Pulandian project to $700 million over five years, about $200 million higher than previous disclosures, according to information presented yesterday during an investor analysts' conference in New York.

The Akron-based tyre maker also disclosed commercial truck tyre production at the plant should start in 2013, about a year later than originally forecast in 2008. The installed capacity will be 1 million units a year, the firm said.

Goodyear broke ground in 2008 on the Pulandian plant complex, which is designed to replace the existing Goodyear Dalian Tire Co. Ltd. plant, which is “land locked” in the Dalian municipality and offered no room for expansion. The plant, which Goodyear took over in 1994, has capacity for 15,000 passenger and light truck tyres a day with 500 employees.

Goodyear did not say when it expects to wind down production at the Dalian plant and shift completely to the new unit.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)

Press release from Goodyear