Guizhou Tyre, based in the Southwestern part of China, which is investing in a new tyre site in neighbouring Vietnam.
Guizhou Tyres Build New Plant in Vietnam
Chinese tyre producers are increasingly expanding beyond their borders in the Far East as the cost of production is rising in mainland China. Tyre companies are scouting for new sites in the neighboring countries that provide cost advantage to their high-volume operations. An example is Guizhou Tyre, based in the Southwestern part of China, which is investing in a new tyre site in neighbouring Vietnam.
“We are putting-up a new plant in Vietnam as the cost of production is competitive there compared to China. Besides, the South-East Asian country has close proximity as it shares a border with us, which also provides an advantage to manage the tyre factory much better,” informed Jack You, General Manager, Guizhou Tyre Import & Export Co Ltd at the recently concluded tyre show CITExpo organised in Shanghai.
Guizhou Tyre is investing $500 million in building the tyre facility in Vietnam. Phase-1 of the site involves setting-up a 1.2 million TBR tyre capacity annually, and it will likely to be operational by end 2019.
“The investment is split with $270 million being invested in phase-1 and the remaining $230 million in phase-2. The second phase will commence in the next 2-3 years and also involves the building of a 500,000 capacity of agricultural, OTR, industrial and solid tyres in order to widen the product range,” he explained.
Chinese tyre makers are also looking for alternative sites outside the country in order to consolidate their US business. “The global tyre business is worsening, with the US-China trade deficit increasing in favour of China. The US started putting-up tariffs on Chinese imports, which used to be good market for TBR,” said Jack You.
Guizhou Tyres exported ca. 800,000 TBR tyres to the US annually until two years ago. “But now tyre shipments to the US have dropped to about 500,000 pieces annually,” he said. The company says it has diverted the extra production to alternative markets such as Africa, the Middle East and South America, besides increasing its focus on sales in the domestic market.
When asked if there is any plan to build tyre sites in any other region, You confided, “We are also considering to have a production base in Africa and South America in the future.”
Based in the mountainous province of Guizhou, the company produces 7 million pieces yearly including truck, bus, OTR, agricultural, industrial and solid tyres under the Advance brand, with the majority of production comprising TBR tyres. It manufactures 4 million TBR tyres annually and exports 30% of its production. It operates at 90%+ capacity utilisation levels.
贵州轮胎投资5亿元越南设新厂
随着中国大陆生产成本的不断提高，越来越多的中国轮胎制造商向远东地区扩张。他们开始向邻国寻找能为他们的高产量生产提供成本优势的新生产基地。位于中国西南部的贵州轮胎便是一个例子，他们在越南投资了一个新厂。
“我们在越南设立新厂，因为那里的生产成本比中国来得更具竞争力。东南亚国家与我们非常接近， 因为我们共享边界，这也让我们更容易管理我们的轮胎厂。”贵州轮胎进出口有限公司总经理Jack You在接受本刊于最近刚圆满落幕的CITEXPO展销会采访时表示。
贵州轮胎投资5亿元在越南建厂。第一阶段包含可生产120万条卡客车子午胎的年产能，预计可在2019年年底前投产。
“该投资将分成两个阶段。第一阶段的投资额为2亿7000万元，而第二阶段的投资额为2亿3000万。第二阶段将在未来2至3年里开始进行，这包括了500，000 条的农业轮胎、工程胎、工业及实心胎的产能，以便扩充产品系列。”他解释。
为了整合他们在美国的业务，中国轮胎制造商也在海外寻找生产基地。“随着美中贸易逆差有利于中国，全球轮胎业务正在恶化。以前美国是卡客车子午胎的好市场，然而现在美国政府开始向中国进口产品征税。”
贵州轮胎每年出口800，000 条卡客车子午胎到美国，一直到两年前为止。“不过，现在每年出口到美国的轮胎下跌至约500，000条。”他说。该公司表示，除了将重点放在本地市场的销售量外，他们将额外的产出转到其他市场如非洲、中东及南非。
询及该公司是否计划在其他的地区设厂时，他充满信心地表示：“我们也在考虑未来在非洲和南美洲设厂。”
位于贵州山区，该公司每年生产700万条前进（Advance）品牌轮胎，包括卡车轮胎、巴士轮胎、工程胎、农业轮胎及实心轮胎，其中以卡客车子午胎的产量最多。该公司每年生产400万条卡客车子午胎，而其出口量占了总产量的30%。目前，该公司的产能利用率已达90% 以上。
