General Science unveils plans for €200m tire plant

Shanghai, China – China's Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. has unveiled plans for a Yuan1.5 billion (€196 million) greenfield tire manufacturing plant in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.

The facility will have the capacity to produce 1.3 million high performance radial tires per year, including 1.2 million truck & buss tires, said General Science 5 May.

The unit will also have the capacity to manufacture 100,000 units of off-road tires, said the company in an announcement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

To build the facility, General Science said it had created an 85%-15% joint venture company - General Rubber (Baotou) Co., Ltd – with Wuxi Hongfeng No. 1 New Energy Partnership.

The plant is estimated to cost Yuan1.5 billion (€196 million) and will be built in 20 months, according to the tire maker.

As a majority shareholder, General Science expects the new facility to “further optimise” its industrial structure and enahnce profitability.

Once operational, the Mongolian plant is estimated to deliver an average annual operating income of Yuan1.561 billion.

The “intelligent tire” factory is part of General Science’s "5X strategic plan", which aims to expand the group’s reach overseas.

The plan aims to optimise the group’s industrial layout, tapping into “favourable conditions” at locations that offer “rich” supply-chains and low operational costs.

In April, the Chinese tire maker officially inaugurated its production facility in the southwestern Cambodian province of Sihanouk.

The facility is expected to produce 5 million units of passenger car tire and 900,000 units of all-steel truck & bus tires by the end of 2024.

Furthermore,  General Science ramped up production at its Thai plant in Rayong, which has the annual capacity to produce 1 million truck and bus tires and 6 million passenger car tires.