Kenda moving U.S. order production out of China

12 June 2019 | Source from Tire Business


CHANGHUA, Taiwan — Taiwan's Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. is transferring some of the production for the U.S. at its China factories to other Asian areas amid tariff angst.

"Kenda has many tire manufacturing facilities in Asia, we can offer productions from different factories to cover demands from customers in a different part of the world," Chairman Jimmy Yang told European Rubber Journal, a sister publication of Tire Business.

The company will supply its tires from "wherever it fits to meet our goal of offering best servicequality products to customers," Mr. Yang said.

According to reports in the Chinese press, Kenda plans to move production of its commercial tires to Vietnam, bicycle tires to Taiwan, VietnamIndonesia,motorcycle tires to VietnamTaiwan.

Chinese production of U.S. orders is worth about $65 million annually, according to reporting in May by China Rubber, a biweekly affiliated to China Rubber Industry Association.

Kenda's China production for U.S. orders of passengerSUV tires will be moved to Kenda's second Vietnam plant once a $48 million expansion project there is finished, the company said.