Prinx resumes operations at Thai production base

Shandong, China – Prinx Chengshan Holdings Ltd has resumed operations at its tire production base in Thailand following a four-day stoppage due to alleged infringements of local environmental-protection requirements.

In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the group said that Prinx Thailand has received a notice from Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) on 7 Aug agreeing to lift a suspension of its production base with effect from the following day.

The regulatory clearance, it stated, covered ‘a 28-day period – until 4 Sept – for trial production involving testing of the relevant equipment for air-quality sample collection.’

On 4 Aug, the group said subsidiary Prinx Chengshan Tire (Thailand) Co. Ltd had “recently” received a temporary suspension notice from the IEAT concerning its tire production base in Thailand.

The suspension was primarily “because the packaging of carbon black [was] alleged to have breached Thailand industrial waste disposal regulations and because an expansion production line is pending waste emissions inspection acceptance.”

Prinx Thailand, therefore, temporarily suspended its ‘tire production base’ pending adoption of remedial measures and resolution of the matter, the stock exchange filing continued.

Announcing the lifting of the suspension, Prinx said it would “ensure that the production site will be operated in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in Thailand during the trial production period.”

The Chinese tire maker added that it did not expect the events in Thailand “to have a material impact on the group’s financial condition.”

Prinx inaugurated production at its plant in Chonburi, Thailand in 2020, with the unit slated to reach capacity to produce 8 million passenger car radial tires and 2 million truck & bus radial tires.