AKRON, Ohio, November 1, 2013 – MESNAC today announced that it will open a Research and Technical Center in Akron, Ohio. This facility will be an extension of MESNAC’s recently established Research Institute based in Qingdao China. The focus of the USA facility will be to develop equipment, processes and systems more closely aligned to the requirements of its customers based in North and Latin America.
MESNAC is the world’s second largest producer of equipment for the Rubber and Tire Industry. Its global reach extends to all major tire and rubber producers. MESNAC has a similar R & D center based in Slovakia, which supports its European customer base.
The Executive Vice President of MESNAC Mr. Zheng Jiangjia announced the opening today at an event held at the Hilton Fairlawn attended by customers, trade press and representatives from Akron city and county governments.
In making the announcement, Mr. Zheng Jiangjia stated “MESNAC’s scientific and technology heritage is what drives our company and has been the basis of our success for the first 12 years of our history. As we expand into the global market, for us, it is only natural that we should do this with an R & D foundation that allows our company to develop materials and technology that are aligned with the needs of our North and Latin America customers. What better place to do that than in the home of USA Tire and Rubber Technology in Akron Ohio?”
EVP Mr. Zheng Jiangjia went on to say “we recognize that Akron was the birth place 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. We are looking forward to working with our customers, the city, Akron University 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.”
“We are delighted that MESNAC has chosen Northeast Ohio as the home of its new U.S. Research and Development Center,” said Tom Waltermire, CEO, Team Northeast Ohio (Team NEO). “MESNAC considered other potential locations but, through the collaborative efforts of Team NEO, the Greater Akron Chamber and the City of Akron, recognized the value of locating in Northeast Ohio where it could take advantage of our region’s strength in rubber and tire technology, resources and talent.”
The new facility will provide employment for multi-skilled personnel including equipment engineers, material researchers, systems analysts and software engineers. Recruitment will start in November and the first phase of the development will employ approximately 30 specialists by mid-2014.
This new Akron R & D Center forms parts of MESNAC’s expansion into the USA market and follows their acquisitions of Wyko Tire Technology ( Greenback, TN ) in 2011 and TMSI (Akron,Ohio) in 2013.
