By acquiring a 75 per cent equity stake in high-tech digital prototype company ‘Model Solution Ltd.’, Hankook Tire hopes to benefit from synergies gained by combining the company’s know-how with that of its affiliate, super-size mould equipment company M&K Technology. The tyre maker paid KRW 68.6 billion (£47.3 million) for the stake.
Hankook Tire is once again a GM Supplier of the Year awardee. General Motors honoured the tyre maker as one of its 132 best suppliers at a ceremony held on 20 April. This is the second consecutive year Hankook has received the award.
With 400 metres of exhibition space at The Tire Cologne, the team at Hankook Tire has plenty of room to stretch out. Or to present a broad range of products, including its new all-weather car tyre. The world première of this tyre – Hankook is keeping mum about its name – will take place at Stand A050, in Hall 6.1.
A new tyre line has joined the Hankook range of bus tyres. The SmartCity AU04+ is designed for year-round urban use – it is 3PMSF and M+S marked – and is available in size 275/70R22.5.
Hankook Tire shares that its state-of-the-art research and development centre in South Korea, the Hankook Technodome, has been granted ISO/IEC 17025 certification from A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation).
With an investment of approximately 290 million euros, Hankook Tire is adding a truck tyre production unit to its factory in Rácalmás, Hungary. Work on this expansion project – the fourth since the plant opened in 2007 – will begin in June, with production expected to commence in June 2020. The truck tyre production unit will have the capacity to make 550,000 tyres a year, and its opening will create around 150 new jobs.
Hankook Tire reports that it is currently discussing original equipment tyre supply opportunities with “several top-tier US auto manufacturers,” with a view to becoming the original equipment supplier for a “handful of popular 2019 models.” The tyre maker says it is also negotiating “notable partnerships” in the USA for this year. In 2017 Hankook secured OE deals with two of the top-selling sedans on the US market, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
The original equipment supply relationship between Hankook Tire and Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania has been extended through the approval of the SmartWork truck tyre series. SmartWork is designed for trucks engaged in construction applications, and the original equipment arrangement covers all Scania vehicles designed for use on construction sites, including the new Scania XT generation of construction vehicles.
The C3 Aircross, a distinctive-looking compact SUV that Citroën brought to market late last year, is now available with Hankook tyres as original equipment. Hankook Tire shares that its Kinergy 4S all-season tyre has been approved for the C3 Aircross in sizes 195/60 R16 89H, 205/60 R16 92H and 215/50 R17 91H, and the Ventus Prime³ summer tyre in size 205/60 R16 92H.
An agreement signed at Autosport International last week seals Hankook Tire’s status as exclusive original equipment tyre supplier to Peterborough-based sportscar manufacturer Radical. Hankook tyres will be fitted to Radical’s road and racing models, and through the supply partnership Hankook will be represented in various international racing series in which Radical is closely involved.
Starting yesterday, Han-Jun Kim is president and chief executive officer of Hankook Tire Europe. He succeeds Ho-Youl Pae; having served in this capacity since 2014, Pae now returns to South Korea to take over a new role at the company’s global headquarters.
When my mate Scotty uttered that I drove like a woman he meant it as a slur, but the joke is now on him – it turns out that this is an award-winning driving style. The award is a bronze 2017 Epica Award in the online campaigns – automotive category, and was given to Hankook Tire Sweden for a short video highlighting the over-representation of men, and younger men in particular, in Sweden’s road accident statistics. The campaign is titled Kör som en kvinna, which in English means ‘Drive like a woman’.
In addition to new president and CEO Soo Il Lee, who will serve alongside Hyun Bum Cho as a separate representative of the company from 1 January 2018, Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. has named a new executive vice-president, five senior vice-presidents and 17 vice-presidents. Announcing these appointments, the tyre maker states that it has restructured its organisation to “respond to the global market and customers with more agility.”
Soo-Il Lee has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Hankook Tire, effective 1 January 2018.
Further growth in China is on the cards for Hankook Tire following an expansion of a retail agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec. Earlier this year, it entered into an agreement to supply truck and bus radials to Sinopec garage retail centres in seven of China’s 32 provinces, and adjusted production at one of the three Hankook tyre plants in China to accommodate expected demand. Yonhap News Agency reports this arrangement has now been extended to a further eight provinces.
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