Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that, in order to respond to increasing demand for tires in African markets coinciding with rapid economic growth throughout the continent, we are moving forward with investments in plant and equipment at our Group's factory in South Africa, Sumitomo Rubber South Africa. These investments focus on the installation of production equipment for truck and bus tires, will total 910 million rand (approx. 55 million USD*) when complete.
In recent years, demand for tires in African markets has been steadily increasing in tandem with rapid economic growth-and we anticipate even further growth in the near future. Until now, our South Africa Factory has produced tires solely for passenger cars and light trucks. In 2014, we announced a 1.1 billion rand (approx. 66 million USD*) investment plan with the aim of enhancing the factory's production capacity and product quality, especially with regard to high-performance tires. Now, we are preparing to make an additional 910 million rand investment in the installation of production equipment for truck and bus tires.
At present, Sumitomo Rubber South Africa supplies truck and bus tires to African markets through sales of imported tires. Now, we will gain production facilities for truck and bus tires on the continent, thus enabling us to ensure a steady supply of locally produced tires for local markets. As a result, we will not only further strengthen our tire sales business in Africa, but also simultaneously accelerate the pace of the global growth and development of the Sumitomo Rubber Group. Following these investments, we plan to begin producing truck and bus tires in South Africa from July of 2018.
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*Calculation Rate : 1 Rand = 0.06USD
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| <South Africa Factory Profile (End of 2015)> |
| | Company Name | : | Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (Pty) Limited |
| Representative | : | Riaz Haffejee |
| Location | : | Ladysmith, KwaZulu Natal, Republic of South Africa |
| Products | : | Tires for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks |
| Production Capacity | : | 10,000 Tires / Day |
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