Toyo Tire Breaks Ground for Expansion of U.S. Manufacturing Plant and Warehouse

WHITE, Ga., Dec. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc. (TNA) located in White, GA; broke ground today for a 700,000-square foot addition to its current 2,000,000-square foot tire manufacturing plant.  The warehouse portion of the facility will also be expanded by 323,000-square feet in order to accommodate the increasing demand for Toyo Tires^® and Nitto^® brand premium light truck and passenger car tires.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131206/LA29425)

Parent company, TOYO TIRE & RUBBER CO., LTD. of Osaka, Japan, is investing $371-million in the TNA expansion over the next four years.  This investment will result in the creation of 650 new jobs in the State of Georgia.

The state-of-the-art TNA manufacturing facility first broke ground in 2004 and features a proprietary automated production system called A.T.O.M. (Advanced Tire Operation Module).  The first tire rolled off the line in early 2006 when the company employed a staff of 81 people.  It has since undergone three expansion projects, more than doubling the size of the facility and now employing a staff of more than 1,000.

In May 2009, TNA was named Georgia Manufacturer of the Year by the State of Georgia.  In September of this year, TNA achieved its certification to the latest ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management Systems.  On November 27, 2013, the manufacturing facility reached a milestone by achieving a total production of 20,000,000 tires since it was founded.

"We are proud to manufacture tires for North America, on North American soil," said Jim Hawk, president, Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc. "This plant, and the people who work in it, play an important role in supporting consumers and our dealers as demand for our products continues to grow. This fourth expansion will help us answer that demand."

Mr. Hawk was joined by the Honorable Nathan Deal, Governor of the State of Georgia, for the ground breaking ceremony.  The Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority assisted with the Toyo Tire expansion, along with Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD)'s Director of International Projects Scott McMurray and GDEcD Project Manager of Existing Industry and Regional Recruitment Carl Campbell, who both led the state's project team. 

About Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc.

Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc. (TNA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc.  It is responsible for production of both the Toyo Tires^® and Nitto^® tire brands.

Both high performance passenger car and light truck tires are produced at the state-of-the-art facility.  Products include Toyo Proxes^® ST II, Toyo Open Country^® A/T II, Toyo Open Country M/T^®, Toyo Proxes 4 Plus, Nitto Grappler, Nitto NT 420S and Nitto NT 555.

SOURCE Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc.