Chinese Rubber, Tire Equipment Maker Eyes Akron for R&D Center

Mesnac, a Chinese producer of equipment for the rubber and tire industry, announced last week that it plans to open a research and technical center in Akron.

According to a report in the Akron Beacon Journal, Mesnac says the venture will work closely with its Research Institute in Qingdao, China. The primary focus of the Akron facility will be to develop equipment and systems that cater to technical requirements of its North American and Latin American customers. 

The Akron center will employ as many as 35 research specialists by 2016.

“We recognize that Akron was the birthplace of the tire and rubber industry in the USA and today it still represents a city, where companies associated with our industry, are encouraged to establish due to the availability of technical and engineering resources and talent,” Mesnac Chairman Yuan Zhongxue said in a statement. “We are looking forward to working with our customers, the city, the University of Akron and our new employees to make our new R&D center an effective technical unit and to ensure that Mesnac meets its social obligations to its new home in the Akron area.”