Yokohama Rubber’s new OHT plant in India commences production

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today the start of production at its Visakhapatnam Plant in India. The new plant was built to expand the production capacity of Yokohama ATG Tires (Y-ATG), a Yokohama Rubber Group company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of off-highway tires (OHT), such as those used on agricultural and other equipment. The new plant was originally scheduled to begin production in the first quarter of 2023. The earlier than planned start-up will enable Y-ATG to respond more quickly to the expanding global demand for OHT tires.

In his welcome address at the opening ceremony, Nitin Mantri, member of the board and managing officer of the Yokohama Rubber and head of the Group’s OHT division, said: “We are very excited with this best-in-class facility that will set a new benchmark for quality and productivity in the OHT segment. With our increased capacity, we will reduce our lead times to better serve our global customer base.”

Y-ATG also has two other tire plants in India – the Dahej Plant in the state of Gujarat and the Tirunelveli Plant in Tamil Nadu. With Alliance, Galaxy and Primex, the plants produce three of the Group’s core OHT brands used on agricultural, construction, industrial and forestry machinery. Y-ATG sales have been expanding faster than the overall OHT market. To meet the demand for its products, Yokohama Rubber began the construction of the Visakhapatnam Plant in the third quarter of 2020 to supplement a 1.6x expansion of production capacity at the Dahej Plant. In its initial production stage, the Visakhapatnam Plant will have a daily capacity of 69 tons (rubber weight) that will be increased to 132 tons in the second stage planned to start in the first quarter of 2024. Further expansion of the plant’s capacity is under consideration.

Yokohama Rubber’s medium-term management plan, covering financial years 2021 to 2023, includes a commercial tire strategy that positions the Group’s OHT business as a future growth driver. The Group plans to expand its OHT business by capitalising on the strength of a multi-brand line-up that includes Yokohama, Alliance, Galaxy, Primex, and Aichi brand OHTs to develop new markets and meet diverse customer needs. At the same time, the Group is increasing its OHT production capacity in an effort to further accelerate the strengthening of its competitiveness in the global OHT market.

Outline of the new Visakhapatnam Plant

Company name: ATC Tires AP Pvt. Ltd.

Location: Atchutapuram Industrial Park, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

Business: Manufacture and sale of off-highway tires

Production items: ALLIANCE, GALAXY and PRIMEX brand tires

Daily production capacity: 132 tons (rubber weight) *including 2^nd stage expansion; an increase of 9 tons from the initial plan.

Site area: Approximately 390,000m²

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About Yokohama ATG Tires: 

Yokohama ATG Tires (Y-ATG) specializes in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of Agriculture, Forestry, Construction, Industrial, Earthmoving, Mining and Port and other commercial tires. Y-ATG owns the world-renowned brands Alliance, Galaxy and Primex and is present in over 120 countries. With a diverse product portfolio that includes more than 4000 SKUs, Y-ATG is well-known for its ability to offer customers, both aftermarket and OEM, with superior quality application-specific and purpose-built tires.

Press contact:

Elena Bounimovitch
Communications, PR & Social Media Manager Europe
ebounimovitch@yokohama-atg.com