Quality You Can Count On
When you put a set of GT Radial tires on your vehicle, you can be confident that your tires have been put through one of the most rigorous and comprehensive quality control systems in the industry.
GITI Tire, global producer of GT Radial products, monitors for quality control during every step of the production process. The final step, before GT Radial tires leave the factory, employs both highly trained visual inspectors and automated inspection machines to detect the slightest defect.
Inspection does not just stop at the surfaces. Tires are sampled from the production line and X-rayed to detect any hidden weaknesses or internal failures. In addition, quality control engineers regularly perform cut sections and study details of the tire construction that affect performance, ride or safety.
Every finished tire comes with a unique barcode backward tracing every step of the manufacturing process for quick response if any quality issues are detected.
Each of the seven GITI Tire manufacturing facilities has obtained ISO/TS16949:2002 accreditation, the international standard for quality manufacturing. In addition, all plants have obtained or are in the process of obtaining ISO14001 Environmental Management System accreditation.
This commitment to quality has led GITI Tire to receive multiple quality supplier awards from companies such as General Motors and is a big reason why we have millions of satisfied customers across the world.
Writing Their Own History for Total Quality Control
Demand is growing for GT Radial tires in the U.S. and across the globe due to the brand’s unbeatable combination of performance and value. GITI Tire, global producer of GT Radial products, is working hard to meet this demand with seven manufacturing facilities located across China that, in total, produce 137,000 tires each day.
Each plant shares a commitment to continuous quality improvement and has obtained ISO/TS16949:2002 accreditation, the highest international standard for quality. And each plant is located in strategic, historically significant areas of China:
GITI Tire Anhui – It is appropriate that the company’s first and largest facility in China (founded in 1993) is located in one of the most important cradles of China’s pre-historical civilization. It has been discovered that humans inhabited the Anhui site of the Inverted V Cave (the shape of the Chinese character for “man”) as far back to 2.5 million years ago.
GITI Tire Fujian - Established in 1995, this plant manufactures tires for cars, heavy trucks and buses. Fujian, located in the southeast region of China facing Taiwan, has a monsoonal climate and contains an abundance of plants and animals with many rare species.
GITI Tire Chongqing - Acquired in 2002, this plant in southwestern China manufactures truck and bus tires. Chongqing is China’s third largest center for motor vehicle production.
GITI Tire Yinchuan – This plant, acquired by GITI Tire in 2002, manufactures truck and bus tires (both radial and bias). Yinchuan, first built in the early part of the Tang dynasty, dates back 1,300 years and has been an important frontier defensive city in the northwestern part of China.
GITI Tire Hualin - Acquired in 2003, this facility located in northeast China manufactures tires for cars, trucks and buses (radial and bias). Hualin is famous for the Hualin Temple, which has more than 1,000 years of history and represents the oldest wooden architecture in south China.
The historical and economical significance of the plant hometowns is indeed amazing; the 23,000 GITI team members at the seven plants are working hard to write their own history for manufacturing a tire brand that drivers across the world can depend on.
It’s a Long Arduous Road to Become a GT Radial Tire
Many drivers may be surprised at the research and development (R&D) that goes into designing and producing a tire. After all, tires have become so dependable and perform so well that it’s easy to see why they could be taken for granted.
At GITI Tire, we do not take anything for granted and are constantly working to ensure that our tires provide a comfortable ride, exceptional handling and fuel savings, while maximizing tread life.
GITI Tire employs close to 300 experienced and dedicated R&D personnel. Our international team draws experience from a multi-national background sharing cumulative knowledge and expertise. Apart from conducting our own research and development, our teams collaborate with leading universities and research institutes around the world.
Computer Simulation
The first step in bringing a new GT Radial (and other tire brands produced by GITI) to market is refining every detail in the tire’s profile, structure and tread pattern by computing data in our world-class CAD and performance simulation software. Then, we create the tire mold and produce a prototype tire using chemical formulations and materials designed specifically by our engineers to achieve the tire’s desired performance.
Indoor Testing
The first batch of prototype tires is put through comprehensive indoor testing. For example, our tire footprint analysis machines enable us to get the best footprint volume on the road surface for optimum wet and dry traction, stopping, handling and mileage. More than 13 types of highly complex machines test everything from endurance to rolling resistance to the tire’s overall strength. The results are analyzed by our skilled engineers, and if the prototype does not measure up, it’s back to the drawing board.
Proving Grounds
If the indoor testing is successful, it is on to one or more of the three GITI Tire Proving Grounds located in: China, the United Kingdom and Finland (for winter tires). On the test tracks, skilled drivers put the tires through the paces to measure, among other things:
- Handling and stability at high speeds
- Riding comfort
- Wet handling
- Braking and cornering
- Noise levels (both in the vehicle and outside)
Then, and only then, is the tire ready for market. When you purchase a GT Radial tire, or any other brand produced by GITI Tire, you can do so with confidence in the fact that it was born of one of the most strenuous R&D programs in the tire industry.
Crossing the Globe with GT Radial
Whether you’re a mom driving an SUV in San Diego, a truck driver in Sao Paulo, or a young professional with a sports car in Shanghai, there is, most likely, a GT Radial tire for your vehicle and a nearby GT Radial retailer.
GT Radial tires are produced and distributed by GITI Tire through an extensive sales and marketing network in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in Singapore, GITI Tire is among the world’s largest tire manufacturers. GITI Tire (USA) Ltd. and GITI Tire (Canada) Ltd. are the North American sales and marketing offices for the company.
A Diverse and Talented Team
GITI Tire employs more than 23,000 team members worldwide with diverse experience and expertise – everything from internationally recognized chemists, to professional test drivers, to highly trained product inspectors, to a myriad of other roles required to take a GT Radial tire from concept to the finished product sold by your local tire retailer.
A Culture That Transcends Boundaries
Nourishing a culture of continuous improvement, GITI Tire encourages team members across the world to share knowledge and experience in an environment that builds trust and collaborative communications. This all adds up to GT Radial tires – for passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, commercial trucks and buses – that you can count on.
Committed to a sustainable future
What do the Sumatran tiger and silica technology have in common? Both are examples of how GITI Tire, global producer of GT Radial products, is working to ensure a sustainable future for many generations to come.
In the Wild
The company is playing a major role in helping protect 1,000,000 acres of mostly intact rain forest in the Batang Toru and Batang Gadis National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia. Sumatra is part of Southeast Asia’s Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, recognized as one of the 25 richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth. It is the only place in the world where elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, clouded leopards and orangutans are all still found.
The importance of protecting these and other animal species, as well as the more than 10,000 plant species found in Sumatra, is invaluable. Also, protecting these forest areas from conversion into vegetation with lower biomass (tree plantations or agriculture) conserves about 100 tons of carbon emission per hectare, or 26 million tons of carbon in total, which is tantamount to about 100 years of carbon emissions resulting from coal burning at GITI plants.
On The Road
GITI Tire is equally committed to utilizing technologies and manufacturing processes that help conserve the environment – technologies such as Nanotek silica which is used in the tread compound to lower the tire’s rolling resistance for improved fuel economy. GITI Tire is also a leader in low noise tire technologies to reduce noise pollution and producing highly retreadable tire casings to reduce waste.
The GT Radial GSL213 FS (for steer axles) and GT669+ FS (for drive axles) truck tires have received SmartWay verification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the latest Rolling Resistance Coefficient requirements. The SmartWay verification implies that these products contribute to reduce emissions and provide an estimated fuel savings of three percent or greater against market leading on-highway commercial truck tires.
Furthermore, GITI tires are produced with non-aromatic oils, a greener manufacturing process that prevents the release of carcinogenic components into the air as the tread wears out.
In Our Facilities
The company has implemented changes in its facilities to lower energy use while increasing production. For example, our R&D facility is built with materials that minimize daytime heat, thus reducing electricity and cooling costs. Changes in our production process have allowed GITI Tire to reduce waste while increasing efficiency, precision and product durability. All GITI Tire plants have obtained or are in the process of obtaining ISO14001 Environmental Management System Accreditation.
GITI Tire recognizes that we all must be stewards of the environment, and we are committed to becoming a truly green company.
