Tire Company to Open Factory in Iranian Kurdistan

Barez Group will produce 150,000 tons of tires annually by 2021, the company's CEO told a press briefing in Tehran last week.

Barez Industrial Group is a local tire manufacturer with a large share in the local market.

Abbas Abbasi Abyaneh said that the company's plant in Kerman currently produces 85,000 tons of tires each year.

A new facility will be inaugurated in the Kurdestan region with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons. Overall annual production capacity will reach 135,000 tons, IRNA reported.

The new factory in Kurdistan will create 1,000 jobs and after it comes on stream Barez will be able to provide 50% of the needs of domestic tire demand.

Market Needs

Abyaneh put the total annual demand at 18-20 million car tires and said his company produces 4 million car tires at the plant in Kerman.

The new plant in Kurdestan will produce 6 million passenger tires per year. Thus, Barez will be able to manufacture a total of 10 million passenger car tires each year.

Barez produces 400,000 heavy-duty and commercial truck tires each year and supplies 50% of the domestic demand in this category. 

Over the next five years, market demand for commercial truck tires is expected to reach 1 million a year.

Data show that Iran needs 120,000 tires for agricultural vehicles 80,000 of which is produced by Barez, the official said.

Imports

Due to the surge in tire imports in 2014 local tire manufacturers had to cut down production. However, imports were curtailed the following year and production increased as a result.

According to the official, two important measures were taken to decrease unregulated tire imports. All brands wanting to enter the local market were obliged to first obtain standards certificates from the Iran Standards Organization.

Furthermore, importers were required to set up legal representative offices certified by the foreign company they work with and offer official after sales services

The official added that "80% of foreign tires come from China and 20% tariff for tire imports is not enough and is harming local industries." 

The tire industry guild has demanded that tariffs for tire imports be raised to 40%

"This will create investment opportunities in the domestic tire industry and once competitiveness increases the tariffs could be cut gradually."

For sustaining and improving Iran's tire industry overseas markets should be targeted, specifically in the Middle East, Abyaneh told the press.