Yokohama to triple output of 18-inch tyres in Japan

Tokyo -- Yokohama Rubber Co is planning to triple output of 18-inch and greater tyres at its new Shinshiro facility in Japan. The company said in May 2003 that it was building a facility for the SUV- and high performance tyres. That unit came on stream in 2004, with capacity for 300 000 units per year and the company is in the process of a second-phase expansion, which will bring capacity up to 750 000 units per year by the middle of 2006.

Yokohama has now announced a third phase project, destined to increase production to 1 million units by 2007, said the company.