The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has decided to invest in additional production capacity at the Visakhapatnam Plant now under construction in India.
Yokohama to Invest Additional US$171 Million to OHT Visakhapatnam Plant
According to the company, this is to further expand the production capacity of Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT), a Yokohama Rubber Group company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of off-highway tyres (OHT), such as those used on agricultural and other equipment.
An additional investment of US$171 million will increase the new plant’s daily production capacity from the originally planned 55 tons (rubber weight) in the first stage of operations, scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2023, to 123 tons in the second stage, scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2024.
During January 2021, Yokohama Rubber consolidated its OHT business with that of the Alliance Tire Group (ATG), a Yokohama Group company specialising in OHT tyres, to create a strong, integrated global OHT business under the name of YOHT. YOHT currently has two tyre plants in India—the Dahej Plant in the state of Gujarat and the Tirunelveli Plant in Tamil Nadu. The plants produce three of the Group’s core off-highway tire brands—the Alliance, Galaxy and Primex brands—which are used on agricultural, construction, industrial and forestry machinery.
With global demand expanding, Yokohama Rubber recently expanded capacity at the Dahej Plant and began the construction of the new Visakhapatnam Plant in the third quarter of 2020. The Company has now decided to further expand capacity at the new plant to meet the continually growing demand for OHT. The Visakhapatnam Plant is being built on a 390,000m2 site, which includes a recently acquired additional 70,000m2. The site has a room for further capacity expansion in the future.
Yokohama Rubber’s medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2023（YX2023), includes a commercial tyre strategy that positions the Group’s OHT business as a future growth driver. The Group plans to expand its OHT business by capitalising on the strength of a multi-brand line-up that includes Yokohama, Alliance, Galaxy, Primex, and Aichi brand OHTs to develop new markets and meet diverse customer needs. At the same time, the Group is increasing its OHT production capacity in an effort to further accelerate the strengthening of its competitiveness in the global OHT market.
