Federal Tire is set to open a new tyre manufacturing plant Taoyuan city’s Guanyin District at the end of the second quarter.

The Guanyin plant will be able to manufacture three million tyres per year, expanding to six million tyres in the long term.

News of the new plant comes at a time when Federal Tire is coming to terms with the closure of a second plant in Taoyuan city following a huge fire last week.

The fire broke out on Tuesday, January 17and the factory was seen engulfed in heavy flames. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze, but not until the plant had been burned to the ground, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the air.