Toyo picks up American OE on pickup

For the first time ever, a tyre produced by Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc. has been selected as an original equipment fitment by a US vehicle maker. The Toyo Open Country AT II will be factory mounted on Ford F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks.

Replacement market sales of the Open Country AT II began in August 2012, and Toyo says that within a year the tyre became a “hit product”, with sales exceeding one million units.

Toyo Tire North America, which manufactures the Open Country AT II, was established in 2005 as a tyre production base for the North American market. The company’s facility in White, Georgia uses Toyo’s highly automated and proprietary A.T.O.M. (Advanced Tire Operation Module) tyre production system, which is designed for multi-product, small-lot production with reduced lead times; at present, the plant is undergoing its fourth capacity expansion.