YOKOHAMA OFFICIALLY OPENS NEW $300 MILLION COMMERCIAL TIRE PLANT IN MISSISSIPPI

October 5, 2015 by Yokohama

• Festive grand opening ceremony held for the high-tech, one-million-square-foot facility in West Point, which has already hired more than 260 employees and will produce up to one million tires annually

WEST POINT, MS – (Oct. 5, 2015) – Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi (YTMM) today announced the opening of its new $300 million commercial truck tire facility in West Point, Mississippi. Just a little over 24 months after breaking ground on the site, YTMM commemorated the occasion with more than three hundred dignitaries and guests at the modern, one-million-square-foot facility.

'The grand opening of our first U.S.-built plant is truly a historic day for Yokohama,' said Tadaharu Yamamoto, president of YTMM. 'Thanks to Gov. Bryant, the great state of Mississippi, the entire community of West Point, the Golden Triangle Region and the incredible Mississippi workforce, the plant site was developed to a fully operational state-of-the-art facility in record time.'

As of now, YTMM has hired more than 260 employees and plans to eventually reach 500. Constructed on more than 500 acres of land, the YTMM plant houses manufacturing, warehousing and operations facilities, and will produce up to one million tires annually when running at full capacity.

Among the speakers at the festive ceremony were Hikomitsu Noji, president and representative director of The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., (YTMM's parent company in Tokyo, Japan) and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant.

'The opening of Yokohama's manufacturing facility in West Point brings full circle a project that broke ground just two short years ago. I appreciate the Yokohama team, the Mississippi Legislature and state and local officials who have worked hard from day one to expedite this project and create so many jobs for the residents of West Point and the Golden Triangle region,' said Gov. Bryant. 'I congratulate Yokohama on this milestone event, and the state of Mississippi looks forward to many more years of partnership with this great company.'

Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) and Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi, LLC (YTMM) are part of Yokohama Corporation of North America (YCNA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (YRC), a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. YCNA oversees all Yokohama-related operations in North America, including sales and marketing, manufacturing, technical development, long-term corporate planning and investment. YTC services an extensive sales network throughout the U.S., and is a leader in technology and innovation. The company's complete product line includes tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama's broad product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com or www.yokohamatruck.com.