Prior to this, production had partially started in July 2022 as the factory became operational with all equipment being installed. With President Aleksandar Vučić of the Republic of Serbia and a long list of distinguished guests in attendance, the opening ceremony was observed today at the factory.
This factory will be operated by Toyo Tire Serbia d.o.o. (Representative: Yoji Imura), as part of the Toyo Tire group.
The new factory in Serbia features state-of-the-art technologies, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution system (MES), to visualise processes. By precisely linking the status information of each piece of highly productive production equipment, this “smart factory” unlocks a higher dimension of production management system optimisation.
In 2019, Toyo Tire established an R&D Centre in the Federal Republic of Germany to continue to search for and study cutting-edge raw materials, gather the latest information on vehicles and markets, and enhance the capabilities to develop high-performance technologies at each design process of structures, shapes, and patterns. By taking advantage of these leading leading-edge technologies, this new factory is responsible for the production of high-performance, competitive tyres that meet market insights, including the ongoing shift to electric vehicles (EVs).
Adjacent to the factory building is a proving ground with a straight track of 720 m and a total length of 1,690 m. We will carry out test runs to gather data on tyres, the results of which will be used to promptly verify compliance with finely-segmented laws/regulations and certification requirements in Europe, allowing us to deliver attractive tyres to the market in a more timely manner.
Also laid out on its premises is a solar power system, one of the largest in the country (electric generating capacity: 8.4 MW), which not only provides 10.15 GWh of electricity output but also helps to reduce 7,100 tons of CO2 emissions per annum.
The new factory is expected to reach its full capacity of approximately five million tyres per annum (based on tyres for passenger vehicles) during the second half of fiscal 2023. While meeting local demand in its home region of Europe, it will also cater strategically to our main market in North America.