Chinese tyre company Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd. is planning to set up a rubber technology centre and waste tyre renovation unit at its manufacturing complex in Yantai, Shandong Province. The company also plans to set up a sporting goods business unit and has approved a US$120 million expansion of its Thailand tyre plant.
The company will invest US$31 million and US$3.1 million for the development of the rubber technology and tyre recycling units, respectively. Further details were not disclosed.
Linglong is also investing US$8 million to set up a sports culture development company in Beijing that specialises in the manufacturing and sales of sports products, the construction of sports facilities, the operation and promotion of sports events as well as investment in sports clubs.
The company is also increasing production in its tyre plant in Thailand by adding 800,000 units of annual capacity for radial truck tyres, 2 million units of radial passenger tyres, and 400,000 bias-ply tyres to its capacity.
Linglong opened the Chonburi, Rayong, Thailand, plant in 2014 and added truck/bus tyre capacity a year later. The subsidiary, Linglong International Tire (Thailand), put the capacity for truck tyres at 1.2 million units a year, to go with 12 million units of car and light truck tyre capacity.
According to a company filing, construction is expected to take 18 months, and the new facilities are estimated to general US$31 million in annual profit on US$188 million in sales.
A smart equipment manufacturing joint venture in Yantai with Shanghai MJ Intelligent System, a smart factory solution provider, will also be established. The joint venture aims to “learn from the advanced experience in smart equipment and improve the company’s current machinery quality,” according to the filing. Linglong will be holding a 60% stake in the JV with an investment of US$1.8 million.