The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced it has broken ground on a $485 million expansion of its state-of-the-art tire factory in Pulandian, Dalian, China. Goodyear Chairman, CEO and President Richard Kramer took part in a ceremony with Lu Lin, deputy mayor of Dalian, China.
When completed in 2020, the expansion will increase the plant’s capacity by about 5 million tires a year, enabling Goodyear to meet the strong and growing market demand for premium, large-rim-diameter consumer tires in China and the Asia Pacific region. By 2020, Goodyear expects tires with rim diameters of 17 inches or greater to account for nearly 60 percent of its replacement tire sales volume in China.
“This investment in our Pulandian factory speaks to our long-term strategy of pursuing sustainable growth in the Asia Pacific region and increasing Goodyear’s presence in high-value segments of the global tire market that are growing at rates above the total industry where we can capture the value of our brand,” Kramer said. “The city of Dalian has been supportive of our developments here, and we look forward to continuing this fruitful partnership.”
“Goodyear’s latest investment in Pulandian strengthens our presence in China. As one of our most important and key growth markets, our global brand and innovative product portfolio in China will give us a competitive edge,” said Chris Delaney, president, Asia Pacific.
Goodyear was the first global tire manufacturer to enter China when it invested in a tire manufacturing plant in Dalian in 1994. The company moved production to the new Pulandian factory in 2012 and opened its new China Development Center on the Pulandian campus in 2015 to increase the speed and efficiency of developing high-quality premium tires for China-based auto manufacturers.
