Further to Tyres & Accessories’ detailed report on Qingdao Doublestar Tire Corp’s expansion plans last week, the company has released further information about the truck and OTR tyre joint venture it is setting up in Kazakhstan.
The joint venture will be established in Oskemen, a city with a population of about 300,000 in the far east of Kazakhstan and will be called Kazstar Tire. As T&A reported Doublestar will hold a 27.5 per cent shareholding in the venture. Doublestar’s partner in the venture is LLP Kazindustriservis, a tyre sales and services company, which will own 72.5 per cent of the business.
Consistent with our earlier reports that Doublestar’s is investing US$30,250,000 in its share, local news sources report that regional officials confirmed that around US$110 million will be invested in the plant, which will have the capacity to produce 600,000 radial truck and 15,000 bias-ply OTR tyres.
Ultimately the joint venture parties are aiming to generate new sales in the Russian and former CIS markets. In Kazakhstan the goal is for Kazstar to be the most popular brand in the domestic market.
