Hankook Archives - Page 62 of 80 - Tyrepress

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New President to Head Up Hankook Tire America

Hankook Tire has given word that, as of December 1, Soo Il Lee will take over from H. Y. (Greg) Pae as president of Hankook Tire America Corp. In addition to his new role, Lee will also serve as COO for the company’s business operations throughout the Americas, and in this capacity will be responsible for the overall growth and marketing strategies for the US, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America. Following several years in the US, Pae will return to the company’s global headquarters in Seoul.

12th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement Will Aid Tyre Sales

Editorial/Comment, International News, News

On 15 October EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton and Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon initialled a free trade agreement (FTA), which the EU calls “the most important ever negotiated between the European Union and a third country.” Estimated to be worth a total of 19 billion euros in new trade for EU exporters, the agreement is designed to remove virtually all tariffs between the two economies.

However, it is a bilateral deal. And European carmakers, apparently fearful of being swamped by imports of more economically priced Korean cars in an already depressed market, were the first to call for a rethink through industry body ACEA. However this appears to have been too little too late and according to the commission, the initialling signals the end of negotiations. The current “stable legal text” will be formally presented to EU Member States in early 2010. So what does this mean for the European tyre (and associated product) markets?

30th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Evaluates Southeast Asian Sites for New Plant

International News

Hankook Tire intends to build a new factory – its sixth overseas plant – somewhere in Southeast Asia. South Korea’s Yonhap news reports company CEO Suh Seung-hwa as stating on October 23 that Hankook may spend between US$250 million and $300 million building the new facility, which is expected to have an annual capacity of ten million units.

26th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Auto Express Tests SUV Tyres

Auto Express has published the results of its latest tyre test, an evaluation of six big-selling small sports utility vehicle products, fitted in size 235/55R17 to a Toyota RAV4 at Continental’s proving ground in Uvalde, Texas. Goodyear’s Excellence (H), Conti’s CrossContact UHP (H) and Michelin’s Latitude Diamaris (H) took the top three spots respectively in a very closely fought contest.

21st October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Third Quarter a Charm for Hankook

(Tire Review) Hankook Tire posted a net profit for the third quarter of the year thanks to increased sales and decreased production costs. For the three months ending 30 September, Hankook posted a net profit of 182.95 billion won (£96 million), up from a net loss of 14.79 billion won a year earlier. Operating profit in the third quarter jumped to 155.94 billion won from 53.86 billion won, while sales rose 14 per cent to 762.09 billion won from 667.75 billion won. Operating profit margin also jumped to 20.5 per cent from 8.1 per cent a year earlier.

20th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Tire Seeking Engineers for ETC

Hankook Tire has announced plans to top up the talent pool at its Europe Technical Center (ETC) in Germany. The Korean tyre maker intends to take on three new engineers before the end of the year, increasing the number of developmental team specialists at the Langenhagen site near Hanover to 36. These new additions follow three other new appointments at the centre this year; in total, the developmental team will grow by more than 16 per cent during 2009 – a growth rate, as Hankook notes, that meets the company’s economic growth.

19th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook R&D Head Receives University Honour

Polymer science expert Dr. Hwi Joong Kim’s work for Hankook Tire has attracted the attention and admiration of his former university – On October 2 the University of Akron M.D. and Ph.D. graduate received the 2009 Outstanding Alumnus award from the seat of learning.

16th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook Issues Van Tyre Recall

A voluntary recall has been issued on a number of sizes in Hankook Tire’s RA08 light commercial tyre range. The sizes included in the safety recall are 185/75R16C, 205/75R16C and 215/75R16C tyres produced at Hankook’s facility in Dunaujvaros, Hungary between April 2008 and June 2009.

14th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

“New Opportunities Arising”: RH Claydon Becomes UK Matador Truck, Hankook’s Aurora Supplier

While the economic events of late-2008, carrying on to the present day saw the UK, along with most of the world, assume the default attitude of Dad’s Army’s Private Fraser (NB exclaiming, with wide, fatalistic eyes, “we’re all doomed!”), RH Claydon says that it has seen “healthy advances” in some segments, including agricultural products and tyres required for the Open Space Management Sector, sports complexes, golf courses, parks departments and local authority needs. The company has also announced that it is the sole UK supplier of Matador light and heavy truck tyres.

12th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Fairs Well in Consumer Reports Tests

US based publication Consumer Reports has rated four Michelin tyres the top spots in North American market all-season (S and T speed ratings) and performance all-season tyres (H and V speed ratings), and winter categories in the magazine's November issue. Each of the four Michelin models received an "Excellent" rating. The Michelin tyres bested tests of 69 models – the largest group ever tested by Consumer Reports. That includes all-season and winter passenger car and SUV tyres.

6th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Destination Europe: More Chinese Products En Route to Europe?

Company News, International News, News

Now President Barack Obama has stuck 35 per cent import duty on all passenger car and light truck tyres from China for the next three years what happens next? Chinese tyre manufacturers won’t want to sell fewer tyres each year. But US importers, consumers and manufacturers are equally unlikely to want to pay or absorb the additional costs. Tyres & Accessories spoke to a range of US, Far Eastern and Chinese companies and found that manufacturers are having to rely heavily on production flexibility, while traders are now setting their sights on one market in particular – Europe.

Stephen Wu, managing director of Chinese tyre trading operation, Best Choice International, reports that orders from the US stopped came to a virtual standstill in July. Their strategy is now openly towards producing more European market orientated products: “We stopped an SUV/LT project and waited for the decision. And we produced more European UHP tyre sizes, not US sizes.” Companies like Best Choice are now prioritising orders in other markets – especially Europe – where they aim to sell the most popular sizes, UHP and winter tyres. Best Choice is apparently interested in other markets as well, but Wu refused to give further details at this time. As far as Best Choice is concerned there is now zero chance of getting orders in the first year of the tariff, except in the 19-inch and over category. As a result competition is likely to be based on just two factors: price and delivery time.

6th October 2009/by Chris

Hankook Pulls New Truck Tyre Range Out of the Box

A new Hankook commercial vehicle radial known as the “e-cube” is being rolled out in European markets. And while at first glance the name may seem an unusual choice for a round product, Hankook Tire Europe explains the sense behind the new long-haul tyre’s given moniker: Three developmental directions have gone into the e-cube; namely energy and low rolling resistance, economy and high mileage, and environment (reduced hazardous materials and low rolling noise). These three “e” words are all equally important and thus can be represented by a three-dimensional geometric shape with equal length edges – in other words, a cube.

6th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

The Market is Ripe for Korean Tyre Makers

International News, News, UK News

2009 could be a breakthrough year for the Korean tyremakers. A collection of circumstances (some clearly the result of famed Far Eastern forward planning, and others distinctly more fortuitous), mean Kumho, Hankook and Nexen have found themselves poised to sell increasing numbers of replacement tyres in the UK and Europe. In addition, their successful efforts in the OE department – ironically helped along by the shaky macro-economic environment – mean this perfect storm of variables could leave the Korean manufacturers in an even stronger position when the dust settles. In the UK, a market where mid-range and economy tyres make up around 60 per cent of unit sales, official figures show that 4.7 million passenger car tyres of South Korean origin were imported last year. However, this cannot be the complete total because it only includes tyres imported from factories actually situated in South Korea. Owing to the fact that all three have significant manufacturing presences in China, and tyres often enter the market by “indirect routes,” it is likely the true total is a lot more.

30th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Auto Bild Impressed with Hankook Tyre Test Winner

Hankook’s Optimo 4S was named the champion of Auto Bild’s major All-Season Tyre Test, with testers noting the tyre’s “absolutely impressive all-round talent.” The all-weather specialist was named the overall winner, having taken first place in five individual categories, and won the label of “Exemplary” over the rest of the competition. Like last year, the Auto Bild editorial desk confirmed that the Optimo 4S delivers peak performance in categories including braking, traction on wet surfaces and hydroplaning. The tyre also received special praise for having the lowest rolling resistance in the test, beating all of its competitors. The company was keen to stress this aspect of the test most in its press release after the award, saying that, in the vehicle segment tested – exemplified by the Ford Fiesta –fitment of its tyres could lead to average savings of more than 50 litres of fuel and 120 kg of CO2 over the life of the tyre.

29th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Prospect of Toyota Deal Benefits Hankook Share Prices

Shares in Hankook Tire rose 5.94 per cent today after Korean media quoted the company’s vice-president as saying it was negotiating a supply deal with Toyota. “Orders from Japanese such as Toyota could accelerate Hankook's brand image enhancement and we would view the order positively if it were to be finalised,” commented Morgan Stanley in a note.

24th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors