On A Roll

In just seven years, toyo tyre malaysia has gone from freshly minted subsidiary of its Japanese parent to the biggest tyre manufacturer in the country. For president and managing director Mike Toh, it’s just the first lap.

- Michael Wayne

Perhaps one of life’s most overlooked life-or-death decisions is your choice of tyres. The right kind of rubber beneath your car can make all the difference between safely avoiding an accident or a tragic alternative. It’s a choice no motorist can afford to take lightly, and one that’s at the heart of Toyo’s operations.

Established in Japan in 1945, Toyo rose to prominence in the nation’s post-war years on the back of a simple promise: to create great tyres. In this case, simplicity proved effective. By 1966, the company’s success had carried it to the US, a first for a Japanese tyre manufacturer. Today, the brand can be found all around the world, carrying vehicles of all sorts – from passenger cars to heavy trucks to motorsports – across the finish line.

Toyo’s presence in Malaysia, the world’s fifth-largest producer of natural rubber, began in 1993 when it established a branch there. With rubber such a staple of its resources, ties to the material’s applications and fortunes run deep in the country.

Mike Toh, armed with a chemistry degree from the University of Malaya, got his career in the tyre industry off to a rolling start in 1996, at Silverstone, a national tyre brand.

“I do miss the chemistry side,” says Mike, today the President and Managing Director of Toyo Tyre Malaysia. “If you ask me about chemistry, I think I’ve retained all my knowledge. But that’s the pathway through which I developed my career in tyres, in technical departments, QA departments and rubber processing. It required a chemistry background, but it wasn’t until I reached a technical department that I first touched a tyre.”