Yokohama Rubber Co, a Japanese tyre manufacturer, is increasing production capacity at its Ibaraki Plant for high-pressure hydraulic hoses. The installation of a new line for spiral wire hoses, which are mostly used in construction machinery, is expected to expand the Omitama City-sited plant’s continuous production lines’ capacity by 1.5 times. Construction will begin in May, with the additional line set to open in September 2023. The overall capital investment, projected at JPY700 million, will expand the types of hoses manufactured on continuous production lines to large diameter hoses while also utilising the capacity of the existing production line for other products, according to the company.
Yokohama Rubber is also expanding the spiral wire hose capacity of Yokohama Industrial Products – Hangzhou Co, Ltd (Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province), the Group’s high-pressure hydraulic hose production base in China, which will nearly triple production capacity by September. Furthermore, Yokohama Rubber is restructuring the production of automobile hoses and couplings in the US and Mexico.
The reorganisation will consolidate and optimise products produced, increase operating rates at each plant, and create a more competitive production system.
The restructuring will see Yokohama Industries Americas de Mexico take over production of air conditioning hoses and transmission oil cooling hoses supplied to automakers in North America and Mexico from Yokohama Industries Americas Inc (YIA) and Yokohama Industries Americas South Carolina (YIA South Carolina) in the US (YIA Mexico). The transfers will be carried out gradually beginning in February and will be completed in June 2023.
YIA will be able to focus on the production of specialty hose assemblies that require advanced technological capabilities as a result of the restructuring. Similarly, YIA South Carolina will focus on power steering hose assemblies, a product category in which it has a large market share. Meanwhile, Yokohama Rubber will increase its sales of air conditioning and transmission oil cooling hose assemblies from YIA Mexico.