Suzhou Yokohama Tire Co finished upgrading its second factory in Suzhou New District on Oct 12, according to local media reports.
Receiving 420 million yuan ($59.43 million) in investment, the facility is expected to increase the company's annual production value from 4.08 million to 6.8 million and its annual output value to more than 1.5 billion yuan.
Suzhou Yokohama has two factories in Suzhou New District: one for car tires and the other for truck and bus tires.
The company started offering original BMW tires in 2018 and spent 420 million yuan upgrading its second facility to replace its truck and bus tire production line with car tire production equipment.
Founded in 2006 by Yokohama Rubber Co in Japan, Suzhou Yokohama is dedicated to designing, manufacturing, and marketing tires, with its main clients being renowned auto companies such as BMW, Toyota, Honda, and NISSAN.
In 2018, the company's operating revenue totaled 660 million yuan.
Katsuragawa Hideto, general manager of Suzhou Yokohama, said that Suzhou Yokohama's production equipment for passenger car tires represents the cutting-edge technologies of Yokohama Rubber Co and the upgraded factory will contribute more to the local economy.
"The upgrading of the second factory in Suzhou Yokohama demonstrates Yokohama's confidence in the district's business environment," said Huang Feng, a senior official from Suzhou New District.
Huang added that the local government will continue creating a better business environment and offering higher-quality services to local Japanese companies.
Suzhou New District is now home to 550 Japanese companies with a total investment of $20 billion, making up one third of all foreign-owned companies in the district.
In 2018, the output value of local Japanese companies above a designated size stood at 50 billion yuan, and the value of their imports and exports exceeded $10 billion, making Suzhou New District the number one destination for Japanese investment in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Suzhou Yokohama Tire Co finishes upgrading its second factory in Suzhou New District on Oct 12. [Photo/snd.gov.cn]
