Hankook Tire Invests 230 million euros in Hungary Factory
Hankook Tire is to invest 230 million euros in its Hungary tyre production plant over the next 2 years in a bid to double production output from 5 to 10 million tyres a year by 2011. The latest injection of funds means the company has invested 550 million euros in the project. An official statement from the company said the latest move to ramp up production in Europe was a reflection of increasing demand there. Hankook’s decision to build a manufacturing facility in Hungary has been key to reducing customer delivery times from one month previously to just five days for the Europe-made Hankook tyres. However, the move also positions Hankook for increasing amounts of OE business, with the company openly bidding for the attention of “Audi-level” customers. Last year the company’s Hungary site began supplying OE customers in Europe, first Hyundai’s Czech factory (with tyres destined for the i30-compact car) then to Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge in Germany for the popular VW T5.