Announcement “soon” on Kumho US plant start date
While work on Kumho Tire’s greenfield project in the US is still on hold, the long wait to restart may soon be over. Georgia-based television station 13WMAZ reports Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority chairman Clifford Whitby as saying “we are getting very close to be able an announce a date when Kumho will be able to start construction.”
The Authority met with Kumho officials on 23 August, and the Korean tyre maker’s representatives said Kumho remains committed to building the Bibb County, Georgia facility. But, as 13WMAZ reports, they related that Kumho has been hurt by the global economic decline and asked local Macon-Bibb officials to “work” with them. The 13WMAZ report of 24 August did not clarify whether this represents a request for additional funds or other financial concessions; if so, any assistance doled out would join a range of already-promised incentives for the Bibb County project, including a 20-year tax abatement and job tax credits, plus a US$3.8 million grant.
Work on the Bibb County factory originally began in 2008. Progress was halted in October 2008 and recommenced early the following year, only to be paused once again in October 2009. Kumho then said work on the project would restart in late 2013, however in July 2011 it revised this date to mid-2012. Kumho Tire USA offers no information as to when, or indeed if, work on the facility will progress further. According to 13WMAZ, David Koh, spokesman for Kumho’s American headquarters, said any update on the plant would have to come from corporate headquarters in South Korea.
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