Qingdao Sentury opens 'smart' tire plant

Shandong, China -  Sentury has opened a 5 million unit/year 'smart' tire plant in Qingdao, Shandong, according to local reports.

The facility, which was started up in late 2014, is said to be the first tire facility of its type in China.

The company also is the first non-state Chinese manufacturer to become a licensed aircraft tire maker.

A 10,000/year aircraft tire facility is in the pipeline expected to start operation in 2015.

Qingdao Sentury currently has a 15 million unit/year tire capacity and schedules to expand to 33 million units/year by 2017.

These plans include a 10 million unit/year plant in Thailand, and expansion to 50m/year by 2021, according to the company.