Sumitomo Rubber USA’s Tonawanda Plant Produces Its ‘First’ Falken OE Tire - USW-Represented Workforce Of Nearly 1,000 ‘Proud Of The Opportunity’ That Union Officials Say ‘Bodes Well For The Future’ Of The Company’s WNY Facility
(TONAWANDA, NEW YORK) – Sumitomo Rubber USA’s United Steelworker (USW)-represented Workforce of nearly 1,000 is proud to produce - for the first time, the tire manufacturer’s Falken Original Equipment (OE) Tire. And, USW Officials say the news bodes well for the future of the company’s Western New York facility.
It was recently announced that the Falken Ziex ZE001A all-season tire in size 235/65R17 103T will roll on the 2021 Toyota Sienna. It's the first OE tire to be made in Sumitomo's factory in Tonawanda, located just outside Buffalo, which was selected as an OE fitment. Toyota expects the minivan to be available in showrooms in late 2020 or early 2021.
“While this tire has been made overseas before, ‘this is the first one in the U.S. and it’s being made in our plant,’” said USW Local 135L President Thomas O’Shei tells WNYLaborToday.com.
O’Shei, who said he is proud of his 975 Members who are employed at the plant, said: “Without a ‘doubt, (Sumitomo) has faith in their (Tonawanda) workforce for them to put their names on this line.’ It’s been a ‘difficult year’ with COVID (continuing to work while dealing with the pandemic) ‘and staying safe through it all.’ ‘Without a doubt, this has been a long process, but we’ve hit all our goals.’ We had a couple of (Coronavirus) outbreaks, ‘but we dealt with them.’ The New York State Department of Health was just in ‘and gave us high marks for keeping our people safe.’ ‘We put our noses to the grindstone because this is not an easy process to develop to develop such a high-quality tire.’ ‘It says a lot about our performance and bodes well for the future of our plant.’”
According to Sumitomo, the Falken Ziex ZE001A features four circumferential grooves to evacuate water and enhance hydroplane resistance and stability in wet conditions. Chamfered tread block corners support even wear throughout the tire’s life, and a solid center rib directs handling response.
“It’s great to see the first Falken-branded tire come out of SRUSA,” Kenji Onga, who is Chairman and CEO of Sumitomo Rubber USA (SRUSA) and Chairman of Sumitomo Rubber North America, said in a statement. “Due to our domestic manufacturing, the tires that come out of (Tonawanda) will enhance the level of service and increase the speed at which product is received for our customers.”
SRUSA says having a U.S.-based manufacturing plant, a private test track and advanced technical resources will enable it to position the Falken tires brand among the most competitive in terms of quality, reliability and product fill times.
The tires made at the Tonawanda Plant are scheduled to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2016.
“This event marks not only a bright future for our organization and people, but also represents years of history, dedication, hard work and perseverance from the people of this plant and their families,” says Richard Smallwood, CEO and President of Sumitomo Rubber North America. “The future has never been full with as much potential as it is now for our plant, our brand and our Employees.”
Sumitomo Rubber North America and Sumitomo Rubber USA are wholly owned subsidiaries of Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) was the parent company of Falken Tire Corporation until January 2016.
The end of an alliance between SRI and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company led to Falken being renamed Sumitomo Rubber North America.
For More Information on this Labor News Story, Go To:
And www.moderntiredealer.com/articles/4721-sumitomo-is-producing-falken-branded-tires-at-new-york-plant
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