Chinese tire company Prinx Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. Ltd. has broken ground for its new manufacturing plant in Thailand. Production is slated to begin in mid-2020.

The company says the new plant will produce 4 million semi-steel radial tires (PCR) for passenger cars and 800,000 all-steel radial tires (TBR) for trucks and buses.

The initial stage of the plant is expected to require an investment of nearly $300 million for the construction of infrastructure.

The new plant is the first overseas factory for Prinx Chengshan, which currently has one manufacturing facility in China with an annual production capacity of 4.6 million truck and bus tires and 6.5 million passenger car tires.

Prinx Chengshan says the new Thailand plant will further consolidate and expand its global production capacity, enhance its international competitiveness, enhance its product brand image and influence, and better meet the needs of overseas customers.

Prinx Chengshan was founded in 1976 and listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2018.

The plant is located in Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard Industrial Zone WHA EISE 3 (Chonburi). The company says the new plant will adopt the tire industry's leading design philosophy and be designed with AI manufacturing standards.

“The establishment of the first overseas production base in WHA ESIE 3 in Thailand is a major step for the expansion of Prinx Chengshan” said Che Hong Zhi, chairman of the board of dDirectors of Prinx Chengshan (Cayman) Holdings Co. Ltd. and chairman of the board of Prinx Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co. Ltd. He said investment in Thailand “is an important step in forging Prinx Chengshan's internationalized brand. It is also a favorable exploration to deepen the good-neighborly and friendly relations between China and Thailand, and promote the friendly economic exchanges between China and Thailand."

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony were: David R. Nardone, Executive Director of WHA Industrial Development PLC, Wang Yifei, Chairman of China State Construction Engineering (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mr. Liu Qing, Executive Director of China State Construction International Engineering Co., Ltd., and Li Hong, Assistant General Manager of China Chemical Industry Guilin Engineering Co., Ltd. Chirada Bumrungvej, deputy manager of the Transmission Systems Engineering Service Department of the Thai Power Authority (Bangkok), and Wu Lin, Vice President of the Bank of China (Thailand) Co., Ltd.