Business activities

Processing of natural rubber

Total site area

250,000 m²

Number of employees

237 (as of the end of December 2021)

Location

51/2 Moo. 1 Thambon Tha Sa Thorn, Amphur. Phunphin, Suratthani 84130,Thailand

Contact for consultation and complaints

Tel: +66 89-895-1825 +66 93-576-6556
E-mail: ytrc_envi@ytrc.co.th

Noboru Takita

YT Rubber (YTRC) was established in 2008 in Thailand’s southern province of Suratthani, which is situated on the eastern side of the northern Malay Peninsula approximately 600 kilometers south of Bangkok.
The nation’s total annual production of natural rubber is approximately 4.7 million tons (making it the number one producer in the world), of which roughly 64% is produced in Thailand’s south. The plant’s immediate vicinity is dominated by rubber plantations and a few groves of palm. The region also boasts extensive tropical rainforests and a bountiful natural environment.

YTRC currently procures and processes raw rubber materials and provides them as high-performance natural rubber products for Yokohama Rubber Group tire production sites both within Thailand and in locations worldwide including Japan, the US, China, Russia, the Philippines, and India, etc.
As a member of the Yokohama Rubber Group, and based on the policy of being a company that contributes to the environment, YTRC has acquired ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, uses a complete water circulation system, and has reduced the discharge of plant effluent to the outside to zero in order to be environmentally friendly. YTRC operates based on coexistence with the natural environment and local residents.

The company’s employees are from Thailand and Myanmar and we distribute compliance cards in their respective languages in an effort to promote an awareness of compliance.
Global Compliance study meetings are held a number of times annually, and through them compliance levels are increasing.

Compliance cards in the Thai languages

Compliance cards in the Myanmar languages

Compliance education materials

Compliance education

Interactions between employees

Although various events were cancelled one after another due to COVID-19, every year we promote cross-cultural exchange and friendship among Thai, Burmese, and Japanese employees by sponsoring and participating in events based on Thai Buddhist culture, birthday parties, year-end parties, internal and external sporting events, and employee weddings.
In addition, we carry out everything from seed collection to seedling cultivation within our company, donate the seedlings, and conduct tree planting activities.

Tree-planting activities at the Forever Forest

Tree-planting activities at the Forever Forest

A birthday message board

Activities for protecting safety and health

We conduct daily safety training and education to raise safety awareness and maintain zero accidents. In addition, we regularly review our protective equipment to ensure that it is appropriately placed and used.
We have been implementing thorough countermeasures against COVID-19 from the early stage and have made efforts to control the number of infected patients.
We also actively participate in drug eradication campaigns led by the government and work to maintain the health and healthy living environments of employees.
We follow the laws concerning medical insurance and regular health checkups, and equal working conditions for both Thais and Burmese, with no discrimination based on ethnicity.

Rescue training

Firefighting drill

Education on countermeasures against COVID-19

Health checkup

Environmental data

• FY: January to December
• Greenhouse gas emissions for the overseas site were calculated based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative.
• Since FY2017, the water usage calculation also includes rainwater figures. Water is reused through complete circulation, resulting in zero water discharge.

Energy-saving activities

We have promoted energy conservation activities, and electricity and fuel consumption per unit of production is on a downward trend. In addition, electricity consumption in offices and company housing has also decreased significantly.

Biodiversity preservation activities

We are continuing with preservation activities such as surveying the lifeforms on the pondage on the company grounds and the adjacent Tappi River.
Further, we planted trees around the pondage and protected the banks, and started to provide a pleasant living environment for the birds and fish. As a result, we now see many wild birds every day.

Catching fish in the anti-flood pond

Catching fish with cast nets

Bird watching

Birds observed on the site

Vegetation survey in the site

We regularly visit existing raw materials suppliers in order to maintain and strengthen relationships while providing explanations on our CSR philosophy in order to deepen the level of understanding.

Promoting agroforestry farming

Agroforestry farming is a form of mixed cultivation. By growing various crops within rubber plantations through utilizing the spacing between the planted rubber trees, small-scale farmers (smallholders) can develop an additional stable income source by being able to harvest and sell produce, etc. By promoting the adoption of agroforestry farming practices, at YTRC we are working to stabilize the businesses and livelihoods of smallholders. We are also helping to maintain the region’s natural biodiversity and to protect its forests.
Furthermore, we are cooperating with university specialists who are researching agroforestry farming practices, and supplying saplings to an experimental plantation that is being run by YTRC.
Seedlings grown by YTRC from seeds are supplied throughout the year to local schools, institutions, and individuals of their choice. More than 10,000 seedlings are supplied every year, and the program has been well received.

Collected seeds

Sorting seeds

Making seedling pods

Agroforestry activities

Donation of seedlings grown at YTRC

CSR Farmers Survey

YTRC is conducting a farmer survey to understand the actual situation of natural rubber production, in order to achieve the goal of "Realization of Sustainable Natural Rubber Procurement", which is the goal of Yokohama Rubber.
YTRC is taking the lead in improving the traceability of raw materials and linking this to farmer support activities, which are being carried out in collaboration with the Yokohama Rubber headquarters.

Farmer survey

Farmer survey

Quality is managed in accordance with ISO 9001 standards, and we are moving forward with improvements based on measures that seek to investigate the root causes of quality information received from users.

ISO 9001/14001 audit

ISO 9001/14001 audit

Despite a series of cancellations due to COVID-19 measures, in past years we have participated in monthly meetings with local communities to exchange opinions on the environment and company initiatives and to deepen understanding of company activities. In addition, we also participate in meetings with nearby businesses and public institutions (schools, hospitals, and temples) to exchange information and participate in donation activities in order to cooperate with the development of the region.
In 2021, as in previous years, we participated in local tree planting activities and held a lecture on "Effective Fertilization" for natural rubber farmers in collaboration with an organization under the Thai Ministry of Agriculture. As part of our COVID-19 response, we distributed bags of emergency food to senior citizen facilities.
In the immediate aftermath of the floods, we provided water and rice to all 383 households affected by the flooding in two neighboring villages.

Jointly with local government, releasing fry into the site's recreational pond

Providing assistance to households affected by floods

Distribution of fertilizer to natural rubber farmers

Donation of YOKOHAMA tires to local emergency services

Donation of drinking water to the local insurance bureau to support COVID-19 infected patients