Linglong Partners with Cimcorp for Plant Automation

Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd. (Linglong) has selected Cimcorp, a manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic tire-handling and order fulfillment solutions as a strategic partner for automation of its plants.

The first project that both companies would be collaborating on will be the automation of Linglong’s established plant in Zhaoyuan, China, which specializes in the production of truck & bus radial (TBR) tires. Cimcorp has a Dream Factory solution which is ideal for this brownfield project with its modular design,. The turnkey solution for material handling will be installed gradually so that there is minimal disruption to the production process.

During the spring of 2018, Linglong had placed another order with Cimcorp for automating the high-bay warehouse, palletizing and shipping areas of its factory for the production of passenger car radial (PCR) tires in Chonburi, Thailand. This plant had become operational in 2014.

In addition to factories it has in Zhaoyuan, Dezhou and Liuzhou in China, it is building another factory in China. The plant will be located on a 223-acre site in the city of Jingmen in Hubei province and Lincoln broke ground for this factory on 6 July during its 2018 Linglong Global Partners Summit. Linglong had recognized Cimcorp with an “Outstanding Partner” award at this summit.

The new plant in Jingmen will serve as a key component of Linglong Tyre’s “5 + 3” manufacturing strategy. Based on this strategy, Linglong will have five production facilities in China and three overseas. The goal is to become one of the top 10 tire manufacturers in the world by revenue and achieve an annual capacity of 90 million units by 2020. In order to attain this goal, Linglong is investing in greenfield plants and automating its existing facilities.

Commenting on the partnership with Cimcorp, Vice President of Sales at Cimcorp, Kai Tuomisaari, said that Cimcorp was delighted to continue working with Linglong as part of its quest to deliver the most advanced automation technology to leading Chinese tire manufacturers. This would help tire companies to achieve process optimization, quality improvement, maximum productivity and increased profitability.