Who Makes GT Radial Tires And Where Are They Built?

Given the tempestuous nature of the current economic climate, consumers are more concerned than ever before about not only who makes the products they are purchasing, but where said entity is actually making them. That is, perhaps, more true of automobiles and auto accessories such as tires than it is for almost any product line, and when it comes to automobile accessories, few items come with quite as many manufacturing question marks as tires.

That's true even of brands as prominent in the tire market as those bearing the brand of GT Radial. That name and its distinctive logo have been a fixture among the better budget brands in the tire game for several decades at this point in history. With the continued backing of GT Radial's internationally known parent company, it appears primed to remain a force in the market for the foreseeable future. For those who may not have previously been aware, no, GT Radial is not owned and operated by a wholly independent company. In fact, the brand is owned by Giti Tire, a global entity in the tire game that is based in Southeast Asia.

Giti actually calls Singapore its home, with the company's international base of operations having been set up there in the early 1990s. And yes, the very fact that Giti is headquartered in Singapore raises some obvious questions about where, exactly, the company manufactures the tires bearing the GT Radial logo. 

Pinning down exactly where all of GT Radial's tires are made can be a bit tricky, in part because its parent company, Giti Tires, boasts manufacturing plants in several countries throughout the world. The company claims eight manufacturing facilities in total, with Giti and its various brands largely made in China, Indonesia, and the United States of America.

Giti does manufacture GT Radial Tires in the United States, though. The company actually spent $560 million to build a state-of-the-art production facility with an integrated research and development center in Chester County, South Carolina. The sprawling facility resides on 1,100 acres of prime Palmetto State land and is projected to employ as many as 1,700 individuals when operating at capacity. At present, those who do work at Giti's South Carolina facility are indeed making several GT Radial Tire models for passenger vehicles. As the design and production of those tires occurs almost entirely in-house, those tires are among the few on the market that can legitimately fly the Made in America banner.

It should be noted, however, that the facility has only been up and running since 2017. As the GT Radial brand has been around since the 1950s, that means its tires have not, historically, been made in South Carolina. That would appear to still be the case, with some tire sellers listing Indonesia as the country of origin for GT Radial models like the Champiro A/S and Savero HT2. 

Given the relative uncertainty regarding where, precisely, your GT Radial-branded tires were made, you might be wondering if there's a way to figure that information out on your own. The answer to that query is a resounding "yes," as you can not only find out what country your tire was made in, but also the actual production facility in which it originated.

You may not realize it, but these days the United States Department of Transportation requires tire manufacturers to display a tire's origin facility via a code that is stamped onto its sidewall. There are a few other number and letter codes and combinations displayed there that detail other important information, such as a tire's make and model, size, and load rating. There's even a number that can tell how old a tire is. Among the other codes, you'll find what is referred to as the Tire Identification Number (or TIN), which is basically a serial number that tells you exactly where in the world your tire was made.

That number should be preceded by the letters DOT, and if you want to use it to learn the origin facility of your tire, you'll need to head to the DOT's NHTSA Product Information Catalog and Vehicle Listing website. There, you'll click on the link labeled vPic MID. On the next page, check the Equipment Plants box, then select Tires in the drop-down menu. Enter the DOT code when prompted, and the tire's origin facility should be listed.