Trelleborg's new tire plant will supply ag tires to the original equipment and replacement markets in North America

Trelleborg AB says it will build a $50 million radial agricultural tire plant in Spartanburg, S.C. Production is expected to commence by the end of 2015.

The manufacturing facility will be located at Trelleborg’s existing premises in Spartanburg.

“North America is the largest agricultural market in the world and it is highly attractive for us," says Maurizio Vischi, business area president for the Trelleborg Wheel Systems subsidiary of Trelleborg AB.

"Demand for extra-large agricultural tires, where Trelleborg is a market leader, is growing in the region. Although we already sell our products in the U.S. and Canada, local production offers considerably more favorable conditions, thus enhancing our competitiveness."

Vischi says being located in Spartanburg will help the company capitalize on "existing partnership agreements with major original equipment manufacturers and distributors (and facilitate) the transfer of technology from one part of the world to another.”

The 430,000-square-foot plant is expected to be at full capacity by 2018, with close to 150 people manning it. The facility will feature state-of-the-art equipment designed according to the latest Trelleborg technology standards.

Trelleborg Wheel Systems closed its industrial tire plant in Hartville, Ohio, in September 2009. The factory's production was transferred to a plant in Sri Lanka.