Sumitomo’s new tyre plant in Turkey

Sumitomo CEO Ikeda and Turkey's Economy Minister ÇaglayanJAPANESE firm Sumitomo Rubber Industries has recently signed a deal with Petlas Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS to build a US$ 516 million-worth tyre factory in the Central Anatolian province of Çank?r?, urkey.

“The priority of our factory in Cankiri is to supply tyres for Japanese automobile firms such as Toyota and Honda and become a base for the European market,” said Sumitomo CEO Ikuji Ikeda, adding that the factory will start producing tyres for cars and trucks in June 2015 and reach an annual capacity of 10 million tyres by 2017.

“We expect a serious growth primarily in Russia and the Middle East markets,” he said.

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said Sumitomo will use the factory to produce tyres for 56 countries; and Turkey is preparing to start negotiations on a trade agreement with Japan.

Sumitomo is Japan’s third-largest tyremaker, and sells its products under the Dunlop brand. (RJA)