Giti to relocate China tire plant

Hefei, Anhui – Giti is planning to relocate its tire production plant in Hefei, Anhui, the Singapore-headquartered group’s first China location established in 1993.

According to a notice dated 29 December on the local government’s website, the company is pushing forward the relocation plan to improve its environmental impact. The move is aligned with the ‘greener Yangtze River economic belt’, an initiative launched by China’s central government in 2016.

In a 19 Oct report, local newspaper Hefei Evening News said the plant’s odour emission had been causing "grievances" among nearby residents.

Giti has spent €3 million (25 million yuan) to address the odour emission problem at the plant since 2017. The company has also been running at low utilisation rates of 40% for truck and bus tires and 20% for passenger car tires, the government notice said.

The new plant’s location will be determined by the end of 2019 and regulatory approvals and construction plan will be in place by 2020, said the notice. The company will break ground on the new plant in 2021 and start facility relocation by 2023.

The company declined to give more details, such as the capacity or the location of the plant.

The group also has five other China plants as well as one in Indonesia and one in the US.