ZC Rubber building 'digital' plant in China, expanding Thai unit

Hangzhou, China - Zhongce Rubber Group Co. Ltd. (ZC Rubber) is adding to its tire production capacity by building a new “digital plant” in China and expanding its manufacturing site in Thailand, the company has announced.

Currently under construction in Hanghzhou, the digital plant is expected to cost $300 million (€270 million) and is set for completion in 2023, ZC Rubber said in written statement to ERJ 8 April.

The unit will focus on “manufacturing and automation” and will cut emissions by 70% compared to a standard plant, according to ZC Rubber. 

In addition, the plant’s overall energy consumption will be 61.5% lower than a standard plant while per capita output will be up by 70.2%, the statement added.

The Chinese tire maker did not elaborate on the technologies to be employed at the digital plant, but said production efficiency of the unit will be 37.5% higher than a traditional production model.

The company did not disclose the production capacity of the "digital plant".  

In addition to the Chinese unit, ZC Rubber broke ground on the third phase of its Thai production plant in Rayong on 12 Feb, the company said.

The expansion involves a total investment of 4 billion baht (€112 million) to build an “intelligent” production plant.

Once completed, the project will increase the Thai plant's production capacity to 5 million units of semi-steel radial tires and 3 million units of all-steel radial tires.

These will be a mix of truck & bus, passenger car, two-wheeler and industrial tires, said ZC Rubber without giving further details.

In 2019, ZC’s total annual output stood 150 million units, of which 42 million units were consumer tires, 23 million units were truck tires, and 8500 million units were two-wheel tires.