Goodyear to spend $485 million on China tire plant expansion

Goodyear is spending $485 million to expand its tire factory in Pulandian, China, that it opened just four years ago.
The expansion, when complete in 2020, will allow the plant to make 5 million more tires annually at the site.
Goodyear said the expansion will help it meet strong and growing market demand for premium, large-rim-diameter consumer tires in China and the Asia Pacific region.
Goodyear expects tires with rim diameters of 17 inches or greater to account for nearly 60 percent of its replacement tire sales volume in China.
“This investment in our Pulandian factory speaks to our long-term strategy of pursuing sustainable growth in the Asia Pacific region and increasing Goodyear’s presence in high-value segments of the global tire market that are growing at rates above the total industry where we can capture the value of our brand,” Rich Kramer, Goodyear’s chairman, chief executive officer and president, said in a statement. Kramer took part in a groundbreaking ceremony at the plant for the expansion.
Goodyear in 1994 first invested in a tire manufacturing plant in the Chinese city of Dalian, then moved production to the nearby Pulandian factory in 2012. It opened its China Development Center on the Pulandian campus in 2015.