Taiwanese tire company Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. recently opened its third technical center in the City of Green, Ohio. The center is Kenda’s first in the United States where the company is looking to expand its automobile tire business, CantonRep.com reports. The research and development center employs 20 people, “most of them engineers who will work on tire designs, material compounds and other aspects,” according to the article. Kenda hopes that number will double within a year. The company originally made tires for bicycles and lawn equipment, and started selling automobile tires about 15 years ago. Now passenger tires “account for about 35 percent of annual sales,” and Kenda vice chairman Jimmy Yang “believes Kenda will see the segment grow.” Kenda’s other technical centers are in Yaulin, Taiwan, and Kunshan, China; the headquarters for American Kenda Rubber Industries is in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. According to CantonRep.com, “Kenda worked with Green city officials, the state and other local agencies on an incentive plan. The city approved a seven-year income tax grant for Kenda.” For more, read the full article.
Kenda Rubber opens R&D center in Ohio in move to expand its auto tire business
