Hankook invests 313 million euros in Hungary factory expansion

Hankook Tire and the Hungarian Government have jointly announced details of further investment in the tyre manufacturer’s European production facility, located 60 kilometeres south of Budapest. Hankook plans to invest some 313 million euros in adding a further manufacturing unit to the site, which will create over 950 new jobs and further boost Hankook’s production volume in Europe, bringing capacity up to 17 million tyres per year.

The investment represents the third expansion phase of Hankook’s European plant. Upon completion the company wil have put around 880 million euro into the site. Construction is scheduled to start in June 2013 with production following in mid-2014 with the full capacity being reached in 2015.

Since the initial opening of the plant in 2007, several million tyres have been produced in Hankook’s European factory and output has been growing steadily. Capacity totaled some 6 million tyres in 2010. By 2011 production reached 9 million tyres and went up to 12 million tyres in 2012.

The company’s Rácalmás plant currently produces tyres for passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks in various different specifications. Passenger car radial tyres account for the majority of the total production while thanks to the increased recognition of Hankook’s high product quality in Europe, the UHP tyre segment shows increasing growth rates as well. OE tyres are supplied directly from the plant to the European factories of Volkswagen-group, Hyundai and KIA, giving proof of the excellent production standards. Further premium OE supplies are expected to start later this year.

“We are happy to announce the construction plan for the third expansion phase of our European factory today.” said Seung Hwa Suh, Hankook vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire. “As a key investor in Hungary and an important market player in the European automotive industry, we will continue to explore opportunities to meet the growing demand of our consumers, offering state-of-the-art tyre technologies.”