Vanlead tire unit to kick off global forays

Guangzhou-based company to start building $1 billion plant in South Carolina next year

Guangzhou Vanlead Group Co, one of China's leading radial tire producers, expects the construction of its $1 billion plant in the US state of South Carolina to start in the first half of next year.

The group also plans to set up a research center in Europe and a joint research facility in Akron, Ohio, which is seen as the "Silicon Valley" of the rubber industry, said Fu Shoujie, chairman of Vanlead.