Name and Location
Tyre manufacturing plant upgrade and expansion project.
Location
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Client
Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (SRSA).
Project Description
The project will be completed in two phases.
Phase 1 entailed upgrading and modernising the tyre manufacturing plant to increase the output of passenger sport utility vehicle (SUV) tyres. Current passenger and SUV production capacity is about 12 500 tyres a day.
New SUV tyre models were also introduced to the manufacturing line in response to market demand for these models in South Africa and other African markets.
The Phase 2 expansion project will introduce truck and bus radial (TBR) tyres to the manufacturing line. Planned production capacity by 2020 is 750 tyres a day.
This Dunlop-branded product line is currently imported into South Africa from Sumitomo Rubber Industry plants in Japan and China, owing to a lack of suitable manufacturing capacity locally.
The new investment will terminate this import arrangement and establish a suitable local manufacturing base.
Potential Job Creation
Employment has been created for 193 additional employees since the start-up, including 118 in-service trainees, learnerships, graduates and apprenticeships.
Value
Phase 1 entailed a R1.1-billion investment.
Phase 2 will entail a R910-million investment.
Duration
Work on Phase 1 started in 2014.
Work on Phase 2 will be completed in mid-2018.
Latest Developments
SRSA has officially started production at its TBR tyre manufacturing plant in Ladysmith.
The factory employs 1 060 people, with more than 80% of the workforce hailing from Ladysmith and the surrounding areas.
The factory aims to eventually manufacture enough tyres a day to meet TBR customer demand of Dunlop- and Sumitomo-branded tyres for the replacement and original equipment market across Africa.
“The total size range will be completed by September 2019, however, our customers will not have to wait until this period to experience our top-of-the-range TBR product, with sales of TBR tyres set to commence in the fourth quarter of this year,” RSA CEO Riaz Haffejee has said.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.
On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.
Contact Details for Project Information
SRSA manager: public relations and communications Alisha Molechan, tel +27 31 242 1317 or