Linglong rolls out first PCR tire from Hubei factory

Hubei, China – Linglong Tire has rolled out its first passenger car radial (PCR) tire from its Hubei manufacturing plant, marking a “milestone” in its local expansion plan.

The first PCR tire was manufactured 30 Dec 2019, just over a month after the facility started production of truck & bus radial (TBR) tires, the company said in a 1 Jan statement. 

Located in Jingmen, Hubei Province, the unit is Linglong Tire’s fourth production facility in China, for which the company broke ground in July 2018, according to the company statement.

Spanning over 900,000 square metres with planned floor area of more than 700,000 square metres, Hubei Linglong Tire is targeted to reach an annual PCR capacity of 12 million units; TBRs, 2.4 million units; and OTRs, 60,000 units.

At full production, sales revenue of Hubei Linglong is estimated to reach RMB5 billion (€68 million), said Linglong in its release, without giving a timeline.

The manufacturing base will integrate intelligent manufacturing, PLM (product lifecycle management), industrial big data application, high-end brand, added Linglong’s statement.

Helping the company overcome “regional restriction”, Linglong said that the new location will serve customers “at zero distance, improve market share and reduce logistics cost.”

In 2017, Linglong moved to a ‘5+3’ strategy, with plans to build the fourth manufacturing base in Jingmen and increase its international locations to three. 

The company is currently building its second overseas unit in Serbia to serve the European market and is mulling a third plant in the US.