A model of a Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (Comac) C919 airplane is seen at the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. The airshow is being held from July 19-25. [Simon Dawson / Bloomberg]
FARNBOROUGH, UK - Dunlop Aircraft Tyres (DAT), the world's only specialist aircraft tire manufacturer, said on Tuesday (local time) the company may open its first overseas factory in China in the next few years.Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA), DAT Chairman Ian Edmondson said that a move to China may take place in "five years time", when "we have no room to expand in our existing location. Then we will need another factory for new tires".
"Of course it could be in China," he said.
DAT already has a presence in China, having opened a retread and distribution center in Jinjiang, Fujian province, last November.
Dunlop Taikoo (Jinjiang) Aircraft Tyre Company Limited supports the company's customers across the whole of Asia.
"If we are successful with this Chinese investment, then we will look favorably at China," he added.
The UK company hopes to cash in on Asia's rapidly growing aviation industry and aims to expand its share of the continent's market from the current 1 percent to 10 percent in the next five years.
DAT, whose manufacturing is entirely based in the central English city of Birmingham, could cut costs if it produces and distributes tires in Asia.
"If the market continues to grow as well, then I think it's very possible," Edmondson said.
"I believe aviation in China is strategically necessary. I think it will become a very, very big market," he added.
Edmondson's optimistic outlook on the Chinese market was reflected by the growing presence of exhibitors from the nation at the ongoing international airshow.
Nine Chinese exhibitors are showing off their latest wares at this year's event, while just one was present at the last airshow in 2008.
The most eye-catching of these new products is the JF-17 Thunder aircraft, co-produced by China and Pakistan and jointly exhibited by China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corp and the Pakistani Air Force.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology has brought a sample of the LM-5, the country's state-of-the-art rocket to the show.
Commercial Aircraft of China has brought samples of the C919 and ARJ21, China's domestically designed jumbo and regional jets.
However, Eva Zhu, project manager of Tianjin Airport Economic Area (TAEA), which is also at the airshow, said that as this year's FIA has more than 1,400 exhibitors, the Chinese presence remains quite small.
"High costs could be the biggest hurdle preventing Chinese firms from coming here," she said, noting that exhibiting for a week at the FIA, which wraps up on Sunday, would cost TAEA more than 100,000 yuan.
