OREANDA-NEWS. September 2, 2011. The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that on Saturday, August 20, 2011, SHANDONG YOKOHAMA RUBBER INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS CO., LTD. (YRSC), its production and sales company for conveyor belts in China, held a first-phase tree-planting ceremony on its premises in Weifang City, Shandong Province, as part of the Yokohama Forever Forest Project.

 YRSC planned the tree planting in accordance with the "Miyawaki method" devised by Dr. Akira Miyawaki, plant ecologist and professor emeritus of Yokohama National University, based on the concept of potential natural vegetation*. Prior to the ceremony, the company received guidance from Dr. Da Liang jun, professor at East China Normal University, who has been engaged in tree planting with Dr. Miyawaki in various locations around China, on the selection of trees indigenous to the local area, suppliers of seedlings, and care after planting. On the day of the event, 390 people, including YRSC Chairman Wang Yong Tang, employees and their families, joined by representatives from local administration and local residents and more participated. Dr. Miyawaki and Mr. Hirohiko Takaoka, Managing Corporate Officer of Yokohama Rubber, also joined the event. The participants planted 2,280 trees in 10 varieties, 80% of which, about 1,800 trees, were seedlings grown by YRSC.

 * Potential natural vegetation is a concept in plant ecology that seeks to determine by analogy the vegetation that will occupy an area if its environmental and geographical conditions are not altered by human activities over time.

 With an aim to meet overseas demand vigorous in the conveyor-belt sector, YRSC was established in January 2006 as a joint venture between Yokohama Rubber (China) Co., Ltd., Yokohama Rubber’s holding company in China, and Shandong Yuema Rubber Belt Co., Ltd., a Chinese conveyor belt manufacturer. YRSC is capitalized at USD 20,700,000, invested 77%/23% by the two companies respectively, and has 330 employees as of the end of July 2011.

 The Yokohama Forever Forest Project was launched in 2007 and continues toward its goal of planting 500,000 trees at domestic and overseas production sites in anticipation of the Yokohama Rubber’s 100th anniversary in 2017. With the tree planting at YRSC, more than 200,000 trees have been planted around the world as of August 2011.