Toyo Tire Corporation has appointed Masaomi Kono division general manager of its Europe, Africa & Middle East sales division and also, confusingly, general manager of said division, as well as general manager of the Europe, Africa & Middle East sales department. Kono begins in these roles, and presumably will receive slightly larger business cards, on 1 April 2023.
As of 1 January 2023, Shoji Hirao takes on further responsibilities for sales within Toyo Tire Corporation’s Europe, Africa & Middle East business. In addition to his existing remit as division general manager for the Europe, Africa & Middle East sales division and sales headquarters, Hirao has been appointed general manager of the Europe, Africa & Middle East sales department and sales division.
With the start of production at its new factory in Serbia drawing nearer, Toyo Tire Corporation is changing its organisational structure in Europe. Toyo Tire Europe GmbH, which has served as the sales vehicle and sales headquarters within the region, will be reorganised into a holding company that includes the Serbian plant under its umbrella. From 1 June 2022, the tyre maker will thus be represented in Europe by Toyo Tire Holdings of Europe GmbH.
Following the publication of stronger than expected second-quarter 2021 financial results that returned the bottom line to profitability despite pandemic- and seismic-rubber-related headwinds, Toyo published a statement ramping up its full-year 2021 estimates. See accompanying table (below) for further details.
Toyo Tire Corporation has re-examined and updated its natural rubber procurement policy and established this as an independent policy separate from the company’s CSR Procurement Guidelines that prescribe the proper procurement process for the Toyo Tire Group (the Group).
Toyo Tire Corporation shares that as of 1 July 2021, its Europe Project Development Department will cease being directly managed by the company’s Business Headquarters and will be transferred to the Production Headquarters, where it will be placed under the Headquarters Division.
Toyo Tire Corporation and its Toyo Tire Serbia LLC Belgrade manufacturing subsidiary broke ground at the site of Toyo’s new tyre plant in Indjija City, the Republic of Serbia, on 15 December 2020. Toyo Tire’s eighth tyre manufacturing base is due to start tyre manufacturing operations in April 2022, with a capacity of 5 million passenger car tyres per annum by the summer of 2023.
Following the news that the Japanese tyremaker has received free land as part of the state support package for its Serbia tyre plant, the country’s state aid commission has approved the allocation of 41 million euros ($48.7 million) in government financing to Toyo to support the construction of the new factory in Indjija, northern Serbia.
As of the start of this month, Toyo Tire Corporation has implemented a number of changes to its organisational structure. These changes relate to the company’s R&D headquarters in Japan and involve the consolidation and reorganisation of entire divisions.
Toyo Tire Corporation says it is employing materials informatics (MI) in its tyre development to predict the properties and optimise the material structure of the rubber materials it works with. MI is a component of Toyo Tire’s ‘Nano Balance Technology’ rubber material development platform, and was realised in collaboration with SAS Institute Japan.
A new strategic partnership between Toyo Tire Corporation and automotive component manufacturer JAOS Corporation aims to increase the value of both brands within the SUV and 4×4 sector around the world. The two Japanese companies will collaborate in marketing activities and leverage their aggregate knowledge gained through joint participation in motorsports events and original product testing.
Kenta Kuribayashi has been named president of Toyo Tire Corporation’s tyre production subsidiary in Europe, effective 1 September. He has taken on this role in addition to serving as president of Toyo Tire Europe GmbH and as chairman and chief executive officer of Toyo Tire RUS LLC.
In just a few months’ time, Toyo Tire Corporation will begin research and development work at a new site in Europe. The tyre maker is setting up an R&D centre in Willich, Germany to support its future factory in Serbia, and intends to start operations there in the autumn. Having a local R&D presence in the vicinity of vehicle manufacturers and related companies will, says Toyo, be beneficial in terms of the quality and freshness of the information gained.
Yukio Hasegawa has been named the new president of Toyo Tire Corporation’s subsidiary in Russia, effective tomorrow. He succeeds Kenta Kuribayashi in this role. Kuribayashi remains chief executive officer of the Toyo Tire RUS LLC operation (and president of Toyo Tire Europe GmbH) and will additionally, as of tomorrow, become the Russian subsidiary’s chairman.
Presidency of Serbia; Dimitrije Goll
Toyo Tire