Growth measures
We at Yokohama Rubber have launched a new medium-term management plan as Grand Design 2020 (GD2020). The plan covers the three years from 2018 to 2020.
Consumer Tires
Expand our presence in the premium tire market
GD2020 strategy for consumer tires calls for focusing on premium-grade products, a sector that offers promising growth prospects. It identifies the following four emphases for that strategy.
Tires for premium-grade cars : Become a “go to” tire maker for high-end quality and technology.
Winter tires : Assert leadership in studless snow tires for Japan, in studded snow tires for Northern Europe and Russia, and in winter tires for other European nations.
Hobby tires : Build a product line that serves the diverse needs of car enthusiasts, including racing, rallying, off-road driving, and classic car enjoyment.
Consumer communication : Help customers get more out of motoring lifestyles.
Commercial Tires
Make commercial tires a pillar of revenue driven by off-highway tires
Expand business in commercial tires by leveraging our newly broadened presence in off-highway tires and by making the most of our newly bolstered North American operations in truck and bus tires. In those and other ways, increase the weighting of commercial tires in our sales portfolio as a pillar of growth in our second century.
<Off-highway tires>
- Build on the business scope afforded by the Yokohama subsidiaries Alliance Tire Group, which manufactures tires for agricultural and forestry machinery, and Aichi Tire Industry, which manufactures tires for industrial machinery and by Yokohama’s established business in tires for construction machinery.
- Capitalize on the compelling edge in cost competitiveness provided by Alliance Tire Group’s Indian plants.
- Foster business in special-purpose tires where Yokohama asserts distinctive strengths.
<Truck and bus tires>
- Make the most of our state-of-the-art plant in Mississippi to strengthen the company’s position in regard to high-quality products and flexible supply capabilities. That plant has greatly upgraded Yokohama’s capacity for serving the huge North American market.
- Promote ultra wide base tires that employ Yokohama’s patented SpiraLoopR technology.
Mississippi plant for truck and bus tires
The advantages of the ultra wide base tire
MB Operations
Allocate resources on a priority basis to business fields of strength
GD2020 strategy in MB operations calls for allocating resources to sectors where we assert a competitive edge. It centers on expanding business in automotive components and asserting strong leadership in marine products.
<Automotive components>
- Work through our multinational network of production platforms for automotive hoses and sealants to expand business globally in those products.
- Develop next-generation technologies and products to help ensure lasting growth for our company amid the change that is transforming the automobile industry.
<Marine products>
- Expand business in the highly regarded marine hoses and pneumatic marine fenders produced at Yokohama plants in Japan, Indonesia, and Italy.
- Press ahead with product development based on original technologies and contribute to advances in transporting energy resources safely.
Technology
Special capabilities in controlling physical properties and a global network of R&D and evaluation platforms are crucial strengths for us in technology. GD2020 provides for leveraging those strengths in support of creating products of superior performance and quality. Motor sports will remain an important vehicle for us in honing our competitive edge in the vanguard of tire technology.
■Technologies for controlling physical properties
■Global R&D Network (including contracted facilities)
Indoor ice testing track at Tire Test Center of Hokkaido
R&D center in North Carolina
<Hone our competitive edge in the vanguard of tire technology through participation in motor sports>
Branding
We will strive under GD2020 to raise our profile further in markets worldwide through effective branding. That will include making the most of the partnership agreement concluded in 2015 with English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club. We will foster a dynamic identity for our company by highlighting our Chelsea FC partnership on Facebook and other social networking services.