GTR inks Pakistan JV plan with Chinese tire maker

Karachi, Pakistan – Ghandhara Tyre and Rubber Co. Ltd (GTR) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shandong Huasheng Rubber Co. Ltd to set up a tire-making joint venture in Pakistan.

Under the non-binding MoU, the partners are to explore setting up a JV company for the manufacture and supply of truck & bus and passenger car radial tires, said GTR’s 10 Dec filing on the Pakistan Stock Exchange

Describing Shandong Huasheng Rubber as a “leading technology service provider in China’s tire industry,” the Karachi-headquartered group said the new venture would be “focused on export markets.”

The formation of the JV is subject to satisfactory feasibility studies and regulatory approvals, stated GTR, which formerly traded as The General Tyre and Rubber Co. of Pakistan Ltd.

With over 4500 employees, Chinese tire maker Shandong Huasheng Rubber operates five plants in Dongying City, Shandong Province with a combined capacity of 18.5 million units/year for car, van and truck & bus tires.

For its part, GTR says it is Pakistan’s “largest” maker of tires for cars, SUVs and 4×4 vehicles and also produces tires for light trucks, trucks/buses, two-wheelers and off-road machinery.

The Pakistan company lists its current annual capacity at 2.4 million for ‘automotive’ tires, and 1.6 million for motorcycle tires.

Originally set up in 1963 at Landhi Karachi, GTR was “established by” General Tire International Corp. (GTIC) of the US, with a total capacity of only 120,000 tires per annum.

In 1977, GTIC sold 90% of their shares to the present owner M/s Bibojee Services Ltd, which expanded the company’s capacity five-fold over the following decade.

In 1987, Continental AG purchased GTIC including its 10% stake in the Pakistani company, to which it provided technical assistance in areas of skills, formulations, equipment and raw materials purchasing.

With the takeover of GTIC, Continental gained ownership of the General brand name which, according to GTR, is “synonymous with quality and considered a heritage brand.”