Virginia Yokohama Tire Plant Hits Major Manufacturing Milestone

Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia (YTMV) hit a major milestone earlier this week at its Salem, Virginia, manufacturing facility, the company announced, when the 100 millionth Yokohama tire—a GEOLANDAR A/TG015—rolled off the manufacturing line, the company announced.

“I’d like to express my sincere gratitude and congratulations to YTMV on behalf of the entire company for this amazing achievement,” said Jeff Barna, president of Yokohama Corporation of North America. “The first Yokohama-branded tire was produced at YTMV in 1990 and since that time, Yokohama has grown dramatically here in the U.S. Such a feat would not have been possible without the local production from Salem, Virginia.”

Yokohama began manufacturing tires in the U.S. in 1989, when it acquired Mohawk Rubber Company’s plant in Salem, the company said. It has since been renamed to YTMV and has been renovated and expanded. YTMV, which currently employs 632 people, produces passenger car and light truck tires, including products from Yokohama’s on- and off-road GEOLANDAR line and the fuel-efficient AVID family, the company said. Tires made exclusively at YTMV include the AVID Ascend LX and AVID Touring-S.