Sumitomo Rubber Industries inaugurates tyre factory in Turkey

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, parent company of Falken Tyre, recently held an inauguration ceremony for its new manufacturing plant in Cankiri, Turkey. The company has named its plant Sumitomo Rubber AKO Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (SAT). The tyre maker will use this facility to manufacture tyres for both Turkish market and the nearby EMEA regions.

Many big personalities were present during the opening ceremony, along with the President of the company Norifumi Fujimoto, like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ambassador Yutaka Yokoi of the Japanese Embassy to Turkey, Governor Vahdettin Ozcan of Cankiri Province, Director-General Arda Ermut of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey, Mustafa Ozcan, Chairman of SRI's joint venture partner in Turkey.

Around 1,200 local people also joined this ceremony as audience since coming up of this manufacturing unit is a good sign for the local economy.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, President Erdogan pledged that Turkey would "spare no effort in supporting our Japanese friends" and expressed his hope that the two countries "would grow and develop side-by-side". Meanwhile, SRI’s president Ikeda spoke of his desire to “contribute to the economic development of the nation of Turkey, while preserving and cultivating shared historical bonds”.

Director-General Ermut, who played a vital role in coordinating and launching the plant, said, "This project is a great source of pride to us and to all of Turkey."