Saudi tyre JV – Kumho Tire & Blatco sign tech agreement

Kumho Tire has entered into a technology licensing agreement with Blatco (Black Arrow Tire Co.), a Saudi company established in 2019 to kick-start tyre manufacturing within the country with joint venture partners. Under the terms of the agreement, Kumho Tire will provide Blatco its passenger vehicle tyre production technology for the next 20 years.

This deal, signed on 28 February, follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Kumho Tire and Blatco at the South Korea-Saudi Arabia Smart Innovative Growth Forum in 2022. Blatco aims to establish an 85,000-square-metre tyre factory in Saudi Arabia’s western industrial zone by 2027, with support from the government’s Vision 2030 policy.

“Through the technology export agreement with Blatco in Saudi Arabia, we will demonstrate our technological competitiveness and lay the foundation for future growth in production and sales in the Middle East through strategic partnerships in the Middle East market,” says Il-taek Jung, president and chief executive officer of Kumho Tire.

Adel Al Masood, chief executive officer of Blatco, adds that his company will “strive to develop and produce products with quality and technology through our partnership with technology leader Kumho Tire.”