Worlds’ first carbon-neutral facility of high performance and sustainable bicycle tires
As part of its ambitious growth and investment plans to continue to supply cyclists with the most advanced and sustainable bicycle tires on the planet, Vittoria is excited to announce the opening of a new state-of-the-art factory in Thailand dedicated to the production of cotton tubular and clincher bicycle tires.
The €20 million investment will expand the Vittoria Tires Thailand (VTT) factory premises grow from 36,000 to 51.000 square meters in the Bangpoo industrial district, near the current VTT headquarters. The 10,000 square meters plant will employ approximately 200 people in workspaces designed to provide a friendly and enjoyable working environment. Building operations started in January 2022 and finished in March 2023.
A new carbon-neutral home for Vittoria’s premium cotton tires
Following a strong ESG commitment in the building's design and construction, Vittoria is proud to open the world’s first carbon-neutral operations factory of bicycle tires. The new Vittoria Cotton Tires Factory features electric vulcanization processes, solar panels on the rooftop, reliance on renewable energy, paperless operations, electric automated guided vehicles, and carbon credits. These practices have earned the new factory the CarbonNeutral® operations certification.
This accreditation, awarded by CarbonNeutral certifier Climate Impact Partners, recognizes that Vittoria has met the provisions of The CarbonNeutral Protocol - an open-source standard and guide developed for business that draws together leading independent standards for greenhouse gas accounting into a practical guide to carbon neutrality.
The new facility will be dedicated to the production of premium cotton bicycle tires used by professional and amateur cyclists around the world, such as Vittoria Corsa PRO – the most advanced road bicycle tire, winner of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, Vuelta a España, World Championship and many other World-Tour level competitions in 2023 alone.
Vittoria “green” tire: a step into the future
The building will also give birth to the most sustainable tire ever made that will be released into the gravel segment in spring 2024. This new “green” tire will be Vittoria's first bicycle tire ever built with renewable and recycled materials. With this project, Vittoria aims to revolutionize bicycle tire production by relying less on fossil-based and non-renewable materials.
The Vittoria Cotton Tires Factory demonstrates the company’s innovative mindset, aimed to revolutionize the cycling industry. It follows last year's inauguration of the Vittoria Park at Vittoria Group HQs in Italy - the first bike park experience dedicated to all cycling disciplines – and the opening of the new US offices in Bentonville – the American cycling hub.
The opening of the most advanced cotton tires factory in the cycling industry
On October 3rd 2023, the new Vittoria Cotton Tires Factory was inaugurated in the presence of senior managers of Vittoria Tires Thailand, local authorities, representatives of Thai and Italian industry, the Director-General of Department of European Affairs Amb Asi Mamanee, the Deputy Secretary General of Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) Wirat Tatsaringkansakul, the Italian Ambassador H.E. Paolo Dionisi, the Italian Deputy Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Valentino Valentini and the President of Lombardy Region.
The relationship between Vittoria Group and Thailand is long-lasting. Since the opening of the first factory in Bangkok in 1988 under the name of Lion Tyres Thailand (LTT), it has grown to become the global leading producer of high-quality bicycle tires. The current operations are spread over five buildings in Bangkok and Rayong, including the famous graphene compound research and production facility and the unique 4C extruder able to merge four compounds in one single bicycle tire tread.
