Chinese company to build metal cord factory in Morocco

Chinese Shandong Daye has announced that it will build a new plant for the production of bead wire and metal cord for the tire industry in Morocco - a country where Sentury, a company also based in China, has recently started producing tires.

Daye intends to invest 1.5 billion yuan (210 million dollars) in the new plant, and after the announcement of the new project, the company's shares, as reported by Yicai, rose in price by 5.9%.

The enterprise is planned to be built in two stages, and at the first stage, it will be able to produce 40,000 tons of products. Daye plans to complete the first stage by the end of 2026, and after the launch of the second stage, the plant's capacity will be 100,000 tons of bead wire and 100,000 tons of metal cord per year. When the company plans to bring the enterprise to its design capacity, it does not specify.

It is expected that the own plant will help Daye "react faster to changes in the macroeconomic environment and risks associated with international trade tensions, mitigating their negative consequences, as well as fully utilize the industry and strategic location of Morocco to more efficiently serve existing and potential customers".

Last year, Daye produced 428,000 tons of bead wire for tires, which is equivalent to 38% of the total production of this product in China. According to the company's documentation, key consumers in Europe and the US are such tire manufacturers as Continental, Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli.

Sentury's Moroccan plant was officially launched on September 30, and its capacity is 12 million passenger tires per year. Not so long ago, the Korean Hankook also announced the opening of its representative office in the country.