TOYO TIRE CORPORATION 
By Osaka, Japan -25 January, 2012- Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. (President: Kenji Nakakura, hereinafter Toyo Tires) has announced the establishment of a new company called "Toyo Rubber Chemical Products (Thailand) Limited" in Wang Noi City, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, in order to manufacture and distribute cleaning blades, which are parts for use in office automation equipments.
The cleaning blade is an elastic blade made of urethane rubber, which cleans and removes toners that have adhered to the photoreceptor (belt-drum, transfer belt-drum, etc.), which is a key component in office devices such as copiers, FAX machines and printers.
The office equipment industry is actively developing its business in South East Asia, and this market has been expanding rapidly. Thailand in particular has become a major production base world-wide, second only to China. Thus, Toyo Tires will establish a new company in Thailand to manufacture and distribute cleaning blades, so as to promote further growth for its Urethane Business Unit.
Toyo Tires has both the formulation technology and the proprietary processing technology for rubber urethanes. Through an integrated production, beginning from polyurethane raw materials all the way to a finished cleaning blade, Toyo is aiming to achieve a balance of both high quality and stable supply. In addition, Toyo's Mid-Term Business Plan 2011 announced in May 2011 focuses on boosting the urethane business in the Asia market as part of the Divertech Business Unit strategy.
