August 12 (SeeNews) - Japanese company Toyo Tire Corporation plans to support the activities of its future factory in Serbia through its first European research and development (R&D) centre it plans to establish in Germany, it said.
The R&D centre, to be located in the German town of Willich, will collect market information in the field of tire-related materials and technology in conjunction with the beginning of full-fledged operations at the new tire plant in Serbia, Toyo said in a statement last week.
"The centre will combine material research with technology development and fulfill the function of ensuring the development and production of high-performance, high-value-added tires in the new plant," Toyo said.
With the establishment of the centre, Toyo will have technology development sites in the U.S., Japan and Europe, respectively. The R&D centre in Germany is planned to begin operation this autumn with an objective of building a strong technical foundation in Europe by strengthening capability of product development.
Last month, Toyo said it plans to build a factory in the Serbian town of Indjija, investing 390 million euro ($436 million) in the first phase of the project. Toyo plans to begin construction of the production plant in May 2020, and initiate tire manufacturing operations in January 2022, with capacity projected to reach five million tires per year by the summer of 2023.
Toyo will establish in September a Serbian-registered subsidiary, based in Belgrade, with a capital of 160 million euro, which will be active in the manufacturing and sales of radial tyres for passenger vehicles and light trucks, the Japanese investor said last month.
($ = 0.89449 euro)