JIAXING, CHINA (March 20, 12:15 p.m. ET) -- Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd has begun building a technical center in Jiaxing, which should open by the end of the year, the company said.

The Tokai Rubber Technology Center (China) Co. Ltd is expected to serve mainly factories of Japanese auto makers who operate plants in China, Japanese group Tokai said. The unit will concentrate on developing and expanding sales of urethane and plastic products as well as rubber hose and antivibration components within China.