Tokyo - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that the company and Shandong Xingda Tyre Co., Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer of off-the-road (OR) tires for construction and mining vehicles, signed a basic agreement on August 2 that Yokohama Rubber would provide Shandong Xingda Tyre with technical support regarding OR radial tires and that Yokohama Rubber would off-take a fixed quantity of OR tires manufactured by Shandong Xingda Tyre. Technical support is planned to begin in or after the summer of 2012, and the off-take is planned to begin in the latter half of 2013. Tires off-taken will be radial tires 25 inches or larger, while details as to quantity, time period, etc. remain to be finalized. Yokohama Rubber will be globally marketing all the off-taken tires under the Yokohama Brand.

While OR tires, which are used for dump trucks and wheel loaders, are in high demand amid the globally accelerating resources development, only a limited number of tire makers can manufacture high-quality, reliable OR tires.

Yokohama Rubber, which has a worldwide reputation as an OR tire maker, is planning to further strengthen its sales strategies with the development of its 49-inch large-size radial tire, a highly-demanded type of tires, almost completed. Against this backdrop, the partnership with Shandong Xingda Tyre will benefit us by enabling us to increase supply in a short space of time without the need for capital investment.

For Shandong Xingda Tyre, a manufacturer founded in 2005 that is specialized in OR radial tires, the partnership with Yokohama Rubber will contribute to quality improvement and stable operation. The company possesses a large-scale factory with the latest facilities in Dongying, Shandong and produces and sells its products mainly for export.