BOI Frankfurt Monthly Enewsletter

The Yokohama Rubber Co has officially opened its �2.5-billion (Bt920 million) Tyre Test Centre of Asia in Rayong in a push to make Thailand the tyre research and development centre for the region.

Takashi Fukui, managing corporate officer, said this was the company's second R&D centre, the other being in Japan. It will be the testing ground for tyres for passenger cars, trucks and buses manufactured by factories of the Yokohama Group in Japan, Asia and the US.

"With its completion, the Tyre Test Centre of Asia has become the second comprehensive development base owned by Yokohama Rubber Group ? making it possible to drastically improve the group's tyre development capability in terms of both quantity and quality," Fukui said at the official opening on April 30.

"We are committed to upgrading brand value of Yokohama tyres around the world by utilising these two bases as the core."

Construction began in September 2007 and the test centre began evaluation of some tyres in January this year.

Operated by Yokohama Tyre Manufacturing (Thailand), which manufactures and distributes tyres for trucks, buses, light trucks and passenger cars, the centre covers a 1.69-million-square-metre site.

It contains a high-speed track with a road length of 4.1 kilometres and a longest straight stretch of 1km, where a high-speed running test of over 200kph is possible. It also houses a multipurpose track and general road track.

Like others, Yokohama Rubber Manufacturing has suffered from the economic slowdown, Fukui said. To cope with lower demand, the production capacity of its two plants, which make tyres for cars and trucks,- has been cut 20 per cent.

The company is focusing more on manufacturing to order and is maintaining the inventory period within 30-45 days. To cut costs, it has also reduced overtime, so that all its employees can be retained.

Yokohama plants, located in Amata City, Rayong, are also adjusting their lines to supply products to auto assembly plants. At present, they roll out products mainly for the spare parts and export-oriented market.