19 Nov 2024
Agreement to support a €450m factory in Yanbu with initial production capacity of 4m tires per year
Riyadh – Saudi tire maker Blatco (Black Arrow Tire Co.) has signed a natural rubber supply agreement with Thai exporter Golden Star Rubber, it was announced 15 Nov.
Under the deal, the Thai partner will support the establishment of a $470-million (€445 million) factory in Yanbu, in western Saudi Arabia.
According to the Saudi-Thai business council, which facilitated the agreement, the Yanbu tire plant will initially have a capacity to produce 4 million unit of passenger car tires.
The facility will be expanded to produce 6 million units of tires, including truck & bus tires, at a later stage.
In March, Kumho Tire signed a technology-transfer agreement with Blatco relating to a planned tire factory in Saudi Arabia.
Under the 20-year deal, Kumho Tire agreed to provide Blatco with technology necessary for the overall production of passenger tires sold in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
At the time, Blatco said it aimed to build the 85,000-square-metre factory in a western Saudi industrial complex by 2027, with a nameplate capacity to manufacture 10 million units/year of passenger car, SUV, truck & bus and aircraft tires. (ERJ report)
Blatco and Kumho initially announced their planned investment in the ‘mega-scale tire factory’ in 2022 and had previously set a mid-2024 date for start of construction work.
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