Dunlop launches imported tire but keeps expanding production in Brazil

By Alzira Rodrigues | 5/12/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch

Amid the R$ 1.6 billion investment cycle announced for 2021-2025, Dunlop is presenting the new SP Sport Maxx 060+ tire imported from Japan. The new product provides more control and durability than its predecessor, the 050+, and will focus on the replacement market.

At the same time, the company expands its range with products from abroad, it maintains its project to increase production in Brazil. The automobile sales manufacture shall grow by 5% this year, from 18 thousand to 19 thousand units/day, as truck tires will grow 45%, from 1.1 thousand to 16 thousand/day.

The plans are even more ambitious for 2025, when the daily production should grow, respectively, to 23 thousand and 2.2 thousand tires, according to Rodrigo Alonso, Dunlop Pneus’ sales and marketing director.

The Brazilian plant, located at Fazenda Rio Grande, PR, is expanding its workforce. “We closed 2022 with 1,753 employees. We already have 1.8 thousand and, until 2025, we will reach 2.1 thousand’, says Alonso. The company’s main business is the aftermarket, but its participation in the OEM segment is also increasing.

Among the new customers are Honda and Abarth. The company also exports to countries in the region, supplying the Toyota Hilux line in Argentina, for instance.

The SP Sport Maxx 060+ tire is available in 29 sizes, from 17″ to 20” in diameter. According to the executive, its asymmetrical design makes it fit for all using conditions, especially in wet tracks. The straight grooves optimize the water flow, avoiding skidding and maximizing stability and handling control in conditions that demand maximum tire performance.

“This launch for Brazilian consumers, with so much technology and evolution, strengthens our intention to keep offering the best we have either in products from Japan or produced in our plant in Brazil, one of the group’s most modern”, said Alonso.

The SP Sport Maxx 060+ uses the Nano Black technology, consisting of adding small slim saliences to the tire’s external wall surface, maximizing the light-absorbing area and inhibiting reflex, creating a black hue deeper than traditional.