Hwa Fong ventures into production of big trailer radial tires

Taipei, Nov. 26, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwan's Hwa Fong Rubber Ind. Co., Ltd. Recently unveiled its newly developed trailer radial rubber tire products for sales at home and abroad under company's 'Duro' brand, marking the its official entry into the big-tire market.

Hwa Fong president Lai Kuang-yang stressed that his company is fully capable of manufacturing passenger car radial (PCR) tires, which are expected to generate an annual production value of about NT$250 million (US$7.35 million at US$1: NT$34) for its Taiwan operation.

With over 50 years of experiences in the line, Hwa Fong is one of the most experienced tire maker in Taiwan with long-term technical cooperation ties with Sumitomo Corp. of Japan. Currently, Hwa Fong's agricultural, industrial and motorcycle tires account for about 60% of the company's revenue while bicycle, motorcycle, passenger car and truck tubes and rubber tires account for the rest 40%. About 60% of Hwa Fong's products are for domestic sales and 60% for exports.

Hwa Fong is a very influential maker in the agricultural/industrial and motorcycle tire market with an over 20% share of the domestic market, and its global share has been on the rise. In a bid to cut production costs and get closer to major markets, Hwa Fong has set up several overseas production plants in Thailand and mainland China, all of which are profitable now.

To further expand the company's product lines and boost operating efficiency, Lai said, Hwa Fong has been devoted to R&D and equipment upgrading to pursue transformation product lines. After intensive efforts, Lai pointed out, his company launched several PCR and truck and bus radial (TBR, ranging from 1.75-ton light truck to 20-ton heavy truck) tire products in the third quarter this year.

Lai added that Hwa Fong recently also stepped into production of big trailer tires, further enriching the company's tire product lines.

According to Lai, Hwa Fong's Duro brand radial tire products won intensive attention from numerous visitors to the just-ended Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) auto-parts show in the United States and all of the catalogues brought to the event were handed out on the first day of the show.

Lai claimed that his company's radial trailer tire models adopt new-type thread designs and are made of special-formula rubber materials to secure higher stability during driving and lower fuel consumption (achieved by low friction). With the special thread designs, the president added, Hwa Fong's trailer radial could effectively decrease noise and greatly cut the side-slide effects. Hwa Fong's new trailer tires target mainly at the North America market, he added.