Double Coin says the advanced state-of-the-art facility is owned by Huayi Group (Thailand) Co. Ltd., and will manufacture TBR tires, industrial tires, and OTR tires for the North American market.
“I had the privilege to visit this impressive, new Thailand manufacturing plant; its first manufacturing plant constructed outside of China. This project is part of China’s One Belt and One Road strategy, which seeks to create mutually profitable relationships with other countries such as Thailand,” says Tim Phillips, vice president of marketing and operations for Double Coin. “This new plant will be able to meet the growing demand for Double Coin tires and facilitate the expansion of our TBR and OTR product line.”
Double Coin says Phillips part of a team that recently visited the new manufacturing plant. Mike Yang, president of CMA, and Dr. Liu Xunfeng, chairman of the Board of Shanghai Huayi Group Co., also were in attendance. The purpose was to continue to strengthen relationships with Thai government officials, the company says. Representing Thailand were Wissanu Krea-ngam, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, and Vera Chaiperm, D. Eng., Governor of Bangkok.
Double Coin says the new facility operates in the Luckchai Rubber Industrial City Hub, which is located in Thailand’s Rayong Province. Built on a 3.6 million sq.-ft. site, the new facility is set to manufacture more than 2.5 million TBR tires as well as 50,000 OTR tires.
The company also says new technologies and new equipment are being used in the project. For example, manufacturing and material transfer are automated. The entire plant is controlled by the MES software (Manufacturing Execution System) and is integrated with the SAP management system. Double Coin says the project is designed according to the Industry 4.0 concept. This is a level of automation that reduces the number of employees in the factory to half of what is needed in a traditional tire factory and ensures the quality of the products produced is more stable and reliable, the company adds.
