Yokohama to Acquire Japanese Manufacturer of Industrial Tyres
06 Jan 2017

Tokyo – The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that it has reached agreement with the shareholders of Aichi Tire Industry Co., Ltd., to purchase all of that company’s shares. Aichi Tire, headquartered in Komaki, Aichi, manufactures tyres for industrial machinery, including forklifts, and the acquisition will therefore strengthen Yokohama’s position in that product sector. Yokohama’s plans call for completing the acquisition by March, 2017.

Aichi Tire’s products include solid tyres and press-on tyres. The company supplies those tyres to an extensive clientele of industrial machinery manufacturers, mainly in Japan.

Expanding business in commercial tyres is an emphasis in tyre strategy in the ongoing Phase IV (2015–2017) of Yokohama’s medium-term management plan, Grand Design 100. Measures for achieving that strategic aim have included opening a Mississippi plant for producing truck and bus tyres in October 2015 and acquiring the Amsterdam-based manufacturer of off-highway tyres, Alliance Tire Group B.V., in July 2016.