Giti Tire executives joined Governor Haley along with State and Chester County officials today in announcing the plan to build a new tire manufacturing plant to meet growing demand in the North American market. The $560 million facility will be located in Chester County and is expected to generate 1,700 new jobs over the next 10 years.
“This significant investment represents our strong commitment to customers in North America. This is a key milestone for Giti Tire and an important part of our growth strategy worldwide. Existing business and strong demand for Giti Tire’s passenger and light truck tires in North America has made this significant investment in South Carolina possible. Giti Tire would like to thank Governor Haley, Secretary Hitt, the state and people of South Carolina, Chairman Roddey and the Chester County community for welcoming us,” said Enki Tan, executive chairman of Giti Tire Group.
This is the first greenfield project in North America for Giti Tire. The plant will produce passenger and light truck tires for the replacement and original equipment markets. The plant will be built with a focus on maintaining a healthy balance with the environment and following Giti Tire’s green initiatives.
“Chester County is an excellent location for Giti Tire, offering an extensive and efficient infrastructure network including interstate highways, rail, close proximity to airports and a major metropolitan area to support the company’s needs and growth for many years to come,” said Lei Huai Chin, managing director of Giti Tire Group.
“The new facility will combine manufacturing plant and distribution center with total building area estimated to be 1,800,000 square feet. The first phase of production capacity is expected to be 5 million tires annually. Giti Tire plans to further increase production capacity in response to future market demand and conditions,” said Tom McNamara, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Giti Tire (USA) Ltd.
Quotes from South Carolina State and Chester County Officials
“This is another huge win for our state and Team South Carolina. We are the nation’s tire capital, and Giti’s decision to come to our state is another great sign that our economic development efforts are paying off for the hardworking people of South Carolina. We celebrate Giti Tire’s $560 million investment that will create 1,700 new jobs in our growing tire industry.” – Gov. Nikki Haley
“Today we welcome South Carolina’s fifth OEM tire manufacturer, which further bolsters our state’s reputation as a manufacturing powerhouse and the nation’s tire capital. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Giti Tire in our state.” – Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt
“SC Ports Authority welcomes Giti Tire to South Carolina. We look forward to handling their import-export needs through the Port of Charleston and continuing to support our state’s growing tire industry.” – Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority,
“Once again, Chester County has proven its dedication to grow and prosper economically. We celebrate the company’s decision to invest and create new jobs in Chester County. This announcement marks an important milestone in the history of Chester and we are extremely excited to be selected as the new location for Giti Tire. We have no doubt that Giti Tire will see much success in Chester County!” – R. Carlisle Roddey, Chester County supervisor and chairman of Chester County Council
“We are pleased to welcome our new partner to the Chester County business community. Giti Tire is known worldwide for their industry leadership and commitment to producing the highest quality products available in the marketplace today. This significant investment in a North American production facility means they are serious about expanding their global brand and continuing to lead the industry for many years to come. We are elated that they chose Chester, South Carolina and are anxious to work with them building this new world class tire manufacturing operation.” – Brian Singleton, chairman of the Chester Development Association
About Giti Tire
Giti Tire Group has been in the tire business since 1951, and is ranked 10th globally by Tyre Press. Giti Tire operates 8 manufacturing plants, produces a broad range of tire products and markets to customers in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Giti Tire (USA) Ltd. is the sales, marketing, and distribution company for North America. It markets and sells a family of brands: GT Radial, Primewell, Dextero, and Runway tires for high performance vehicles, passenger, SUV, light truck and medium truck through national retailers, independent retailers and distributors across the United States and Canada.