Shandong Linglong builds car tyre plant for exports

Namrita Chow, autonews@crain.com

Shanghai, China - Shandong Linglong Rubber Co. will build a 1500 million-yuan (€141 million) plant to make passenger-vehicle tyres in Shandong province.

The plant will concentrate on high-performance tyres for export, says Jiang Guibo, business chief of Shandong Linglong's import and export business.

The 40,000-square-meter plant will have an annual capacity of 10 million tyres.

Production is expected to begin mid-2008. The plant will reach full capacity by 2010.

The factory will bring Shandong Linglong's manufacturing capacity to 30 million tyres annually.

Shandong Linglong makes passenger-vehicle tyres, truck tyres and off-road tyres. The company makes its own carbon black and inner tubes. Rubber is sourced mainly from Malaysia and Thailand with a small quantity from China's Hainan Island.

In 2006, Shandong Linglong had total sales of 6 billion yuan (€565 million). In 2007, the company expects sales of 8 billion yuan (€750 million).

From Automotive News China (A Crain publication)