The unprecedented lockdown imposed in March last year turned the supply chain of companies upside down, and the tyre companies were no exception. However, the intensity of disturbance was relatively high for Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT), which exports more than 90 percent of its production. According to Padmakumar G, Executive Vice President – SCM at YOHT, unprecedented lockdown led to unprecedented initiatives for YOHT. “Most importantly, we learned the importance of being able to react, adapt and set up crisis management mechanisms to weather situations of uncertainty,” says Padmakumar G.

Q) Was Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) ready for the unprecedented lockdown?

Padmakumar G: The whole of 2020 was an extraordinary time when ‘business as usual’ was not an option. From the beginning of the year, it was clear that we were braced for a marathon and not a sprint.

At work, we had a unique period of simultaneous supply and demand shocks. Our plants in India were closed for a couple of weeks. As they (plants) were finally allowed to operate, we faced government-mandated operating restrictions and labour shortages that prevented us from running the plants at total capacity.

On the positive side, our plant in Israel was running at full capacity and continued shipments as planned. All sales and administrative employees at global locations were working from home and were doing their best to be accessible at all times. In North America, our network of national warehouses was open, stocked at historically high inventory levels and operating at full local, regional, and national distribution capacity to ensure continued deliveries to locations.

Our competitive position, market share, brand and diversification of our businesses in products and regions helped us see some all-time highs during these challenging times.

Q) Vendors and customers got panicked because of the uncertainties instilled by the lockdowns. How did you keep their morale and confidence intact in those tough times?

Padmakumar G: Unprecedented lockdown led to unprecedented initiatives for YOHT. The acute restrictions and lockdowns created many urgent situations that required immediate attention in the early days of the pandemic. At YOHT, we believe that no crisis should go to waste.

Adaptability, inventiveness and tenacity of our team paved the way to a ‘recovery mode’, and we started planning for the longer-term proactively. We did not face substantial business and operational disruptions – from mitigating the effects of reduced supply to managing disruptions to logistics suppliers and hurdles in meeting their contractual obligations to customers.

YOHT has an agile team that quickly reprioritised the customers’ requirement and ensured critical supply continuation through our multiple sourcing locations. We closely integrated with suppliers, vendors and customers to have better visibility. Consistent communication and streamlining the complexity helped us keep our commitments while keeping the morale and confidence in the most challenging times.

Q) YOHT is mainly into export of products and imports of raw materials? How did you cope up with the supply-demand situation?

Padmakumar G: Prioritisation of critical supply with effective utilisation of available inventories of finished goods, raw materials, and production capacities were the immediate focus in the lockdown situation. What also helped is that we have a wide base of sourcing raw material from multiple sources. We were able to keep our facility running at full efficiency to meet market requirement. We stepped up all measures to ensure that our customers get our products in the earliest shipments.

Q) ATG is now a part of Yokohama, a global giant in the tyre industry. What changes has Yokohama brought in the supply chain?

Padmakumar G: Yokohama has a strong legacy of quality, and its manufacturing and supply chain is very process-driven. The Kaizen processes and digitalisation of our daily supply chain activities helped us improve our process and culture. 

Q) What did you learn from the pandemic?

Padmakumar G: The importance of supply chain resilience and risk management is more apparent than ever. Most importantly, we learned the importance of being able to react, adapt and set up crisis management mechanisms to weather situations of uncertainty. 

Q) There has always been pressure to reduce cost and improve efficiency by shortening the order-to-delivery period. Could you share a couple of examples highlighting the company’s efforts that reduced the cost and enhanced supply chain efficiency?

 Padmakumar G: To shorten the order to delivery, YOHT has initiated Strategic Inventory build-up through S&CP (Sales & Capacity Planning) and effective cost management through strategic buying of raw materials. We have also increased the manufacturing flexibility to reduce delivery in our business of handling 3500+SKU’s.

Q) What new ideas will the company implement at the Visakhapatnam plant to have better supply chain management?

Padmakumar G: Investment in technology that will gain data insights like MES & digitalisation, improving transparency and considerations on sustainability in the supply chain will be key focus areas of our SCM processes in the Visakhapatnam plant. 

Q) What are the current challenges in the business?

Padmakumar G: Current situation of increased raw material cost, an aggressive demand for containers and increased shipping cost are some of the major challenges in SCM across industries. 

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Prometeon Tyre Manufacturing is in discussions with Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade over a planned US$400 million expansion, as the company moves to scale up production and strengthen its position in one of its key regional hubs.

A senior delegation from parent company China National Tire & Rubber Company met Minister Hassan Al-Khatib in Cairo to outline Prometeon’s growth plans for its Amreya factory in Alexandria. The group included chairman Wang Jian Jun, vice president Sun Deng, Prometeon Egypt chairman Omar Mehna, deputy general manager Yuan Liang, Africa–Middle East CEO Stefano Ziliani and CFO Hisham Abdel-Hadi.

During the meeting, Al-Khatib commended the pace of Prometeon’s development efforts, saying the ministry “will spare no effort to meet the company's requirements, in the context of preparing a conducive climate for investment and to protect the competition”. He also said Prometeon would receive continued backing through the China Unit at the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones to ensure the company has “all the necessary information and required data”.

Prometeon executives told the minister that the planned investment aims to increase its investments by $400 million, which is in production of 1 1 one million additional car tires and upskill the existing factory efficiency.

 Prometeon’s Alexandria complex currently produces about 5.2 million tyres annually, and the expansion would introduce new manufacturing technologies to raise output and improve capability.

As part of its proposal, the company is seeking an additional 200,000 square metres of land adjacent to its current site to support the enlarged facility. Prometeon is also exploring the establishment of a dedicated free zone to serve its export-focused operations.

For Prometeon, the investment aligns with its strategy to reinforce Egypt as a central platform for supplying markets across Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The company views the country’s manufacturing base and export access as key strengths as global demand patterns shift.

The talks signal the company’s intention to deepen its long-term commitment in Egypt, subject to final approvals and land allocation.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Yokohama Rubber Co. has opened a new passenger-car tyre plant in Hangzhou, completing the project one month ahead of schedule and marking the first major milestone under its fast-build manufacturing strategy in China.

The company held an opening ceremony recently, attended by local government officials and community representatives. Yokohama Rubber was represented by President and COO Shinji Seimiya, who praised the speed of construction and stressed the plant’s role in the group’s long-term ambitions.

In his remarks, Seimiya said he was grateful for the support that allowed the project to finish ahead of plan. He also noted that the new plant is a very important project for Yokohama Rubber's sustainable growth in the future and that every effort will be made to quickly achieve mass production and deliver high-quality, high-value-added products to the Chinese market as soon as possible.

The Hangzhou facility is the first plant built under the company’s “1-year plant” challenge, a core initiative in its medium-term strategy, Yokohama Transformation 2026. The programme aims to speed up factory construction while lowering production costs and improving efficiency. Work on the new plant began in December 2024, with operations now starting in November 2025.

The project also fulfils a request from the Hangzhou government to relocate an older plant as part of the city’s environmental plans. The new factory will have an annual capacity of 9 million tyres—about 3 million more than the site it replaces—positioning Yokohama to meet rising demand for passenger-car tyres in China. Full-scale production is expected by the second quarter of 2026.

The expansion strengthens the company’s supply of high-value tyres for China’s fast-growing new energy vehicle market, including EV-focused designs and larger rim sizes.

Alongside the rapid-build initiative, Yokohama is pushing to raise the share of premium products in its consumer tyre business by expanding sales of its ADVAN and GEOLANDAR brands, winter tyres, and 18-inch and larger tyres. The company is also rolling out regional product strategies to tailor development and sales to market-specific trends.

The opening of the Hangzhou plant underscores how Yokohama Rubber is trying to sharpen its competitive position in Asia’s largest tyre market while keeping pace with shifts in vehicle technology and local regulations.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

HS HYOSUNG ADVANCED MATERIALS has been honoured as a Community Contribution Certified Company for the seventh consecutive year. The recognition was conferred at the 2025 Community Contribution Recognition Day event in Seoul, where the company also received a Minister of Health and Welfare’s Commendation and the highest possible ‘S’ grade. This dual accolade underscores the sustained public value and consistent performance of its social responsibility programmes.

The certification itself is a rigorous evaluation administered by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea National Council on Social Welfare. It involves a comprehensive review based on ESG Principles, spanning multiple evaluation areas and numerous detailed indicators. In the latest assessment, the company excelled particularly in environmental management, earning recognition for its robust sustainability and carbon-neutral practices. Its diverse community initiatives, which are developed through long-term regional partnerships and extensive employee volunteerism, were also highly commended for building a stable and effective collaborative framework with local communities.

This ongoing commitment has been strategically reinforced following the establishment of the HS Hyosung Group in 2024. Under the new slogan ‘Value, Together’, the company has redefined its approach to social contribution. Its efforts are now organised around three core pillars: providing support for vulnerable groups, fostering the advancement of local communities and culture and promoting eco-friendly initiatives.

H S CHO, Vice Chairman, HS HYOSUNG, said, “Receiving the Minister of Health and Welfare’s Commendation and the highest ‘S’ grade is the result of our longstanding commitment to putting ‘Value, Together’ into action within our communities. We will continue to carry out diverse social contribution initiatives as a responsible company that grows together with local communities.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Toyo Tires has become a member of the Global Data Service Organisation for Tyres and Automotive Components (GDSO). This international non-profit is dedicated to creating universal data standards for tyres and auto components. Through this collaboration, Toyo Tires will intensify its efforts to establish industry-wide systems for tyre identification and traceability, which are crucial for modern supply chains.

A core component of this initiative involves the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. This wireless system allows for non-contact identification of individual tyres, which significantly improves the accuracy and efficiency of quality assurance and inventory management processes. By building a comprehensive database of its products, Toyo Tires will enhance information reliability across the entire industry.

The data accumulated through RFID will be instrumental in developing high-value-added services, particularly within the company’s solution business such as retreading and maintenance programmes. This strengthens information management throughout a tyre's entire life cycle. Furthermore, this technological adoption supports Toyo Tires' broader commitment to sustainability. By proactively leveraging digital tools like RFID, the company aims to reduce its environmental impact while simultaneously enhancing its corporate value and advancing the development of more sustainable tyres.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!