Linglong rolls out first tires from fifth China plant

Changchun, China – Linglong has rolled out first all-steel radial tires from its fifth China tire production plant in Changchun, Jilin.

In its first phase, inaugurated 14 Dec, the €628 million (4.9 billion yuan) facility will produce 1.2 million truck and bus tires and will mark the tire maker’s seventh production unit globally.

The 600,000-sqm unit is located at Changchun Automobile Economic & Technological Development Zone, which houses a range of automakers such as FAW-Volkswagen and FAW Jiefang, with total annual capacity for 1.2 million passenger cars and 200,000 trucks.

In a 16 Dec 2021 statement, Linglong said the plant featured “world-class advanced manufacturing equipment” which make extensive use of industrial cloud, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, 5G and other advanced technologies.

The facility “fully integrates” tire design, production, management, logistics and marketing, and uses data analysis for early warning, process optimisation and production intelligence, Linglong added. 

The overall “technological leapfrog development”, Linglong said, will improve productivity, and “the all-round greenisation.”

The first all-steel product rolled off the assembly line, E-Plus01, is a new generation of ultra-low rolling resistance tire with an EU label AA rating, according to Linglong.

The tire maker broke ground on the Changchun facility in August 2020 as part of its global “7+5” expansion strategy.

To come on full stream in 2025, the project has three phases and will produce 12 million passenger car tires, 2 million truck and bus tires and 200,000 retread truck and bus tires annually.

The breakdown of the phases is as below:

Phase One: 1.2 million truck and bus tires

Phase Two: 400,000 truck and bus tires and 6 million passenger car tires

Phase Three: 400,000 truck and bus tires, 6 million passenger car tires and 200,000 retread truck and bus tires

Linglong expects the plant to generate €46 million annual net profit on €569 million revenue when in full operation.