Toyo Tire Corp. has announced it will establish a new R&D Center – its first European technology development site – in Willich, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
The center is planned to begin operation this fall with an objective of building a strong technical foundation in Europe by strengthening capability of product development, corresponding to the “movement” of next-generation mobility. With the establishment of the center, Toyo will now have technology development sites in the United States, Japan and Europe.
Toyo will enhance its capability of development among the current R&D centers and the new European center by combining and sharing knowledge and information collected.
In order to enhance its state-of-the-art technology in Europe, Toyo announced on July 30 plans to build a tire plant in the Republic of Serbia, with tire production beginning in January 2022. In conjunction, Toyo plans to establish the technology center to expand its capability of collecting market information in the field of tire related materials, and the latest technology of tire products driven by the movement of next-generation mobility.
With Europe being home to large numbers of top-ranking automobile manufacturers and automobile-related companies, for Toyo to have a base in Europe is beneficial, the company says. The center will combine material research with technology development and will fulfill the function of ensuring the development and production of high-performance, high-value-added tires in the new plant developed on site.
Going forward, in conjunction with the beginning of full-fledged operations at the new tire plant in the Republic of Serbia, Toyo says it already has begun to study future expansion of the R&D function in Europe beyond this site.
