Kumho Tire is betting that its new advertising campaign will help improve its image among consumers in South Korea. Thus far, the company said, the new softer, non-product focused ads have received positive reaction from consumers and the market.
As part of what it calls a “growing commitment to the Australian market”, Kumho Tyre Australia has opened a new AU$10 million (£5.9 million) purpose built distribution centre in Western Sydney. The company states the 5,000 square metre warehouse operation, which can hold up to 100,000 tyres, will greatly enhance the company's efficiency and ability to service the growing number of Kumho retailers.
On September 1 the management and staff of Kumho Tire Inc., along with important customers and partners, celebrated the company’s fiftieth anniversary at its headquarters in Seoul and its parent facility in Gwangju. “We look back with pride over the past fifty years and the successful development of Kumho Tires and based upon this look positively towards the future and the and the successful accomplishment of the next fifty years,” Kumho Tires CEO stated Kim Jong-Ho during the celebrations at the Gwangju facility. He thanked all employees for their loyalty to Kumho Tires during both good and bad times.
On September 2, Kumho Tires celebrated its 50th anniversary in South Korea with the launch of a new product, the Majesty Solus. Some 200 guests attended a ceremony at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul to mark both the milestone and the new tyre’s release.
Following a less than optimal 2009 Kumho Tires has achieved positive results for the second consecutive quarter of this year. The South Korean manufacturer’s revenue increased 34 per cent year-on-year during the second quarter of 2010 to KRW 628.1 billion (£336.1 million), with operating profit reaching KRW 66.9 billion (£35.8 million) and an operating profit margin of 10.7 per cent. Net profit for the three months to June 30 was KRW 53.9 billion (£28.8 million), contrasting with a loss of KRW 113.2 billion a year earlier.
Less than a year after taking on the role of Kumho Asiana Group chairman, Park Chan Bup is said to be stepping down due to health reasons. Bloomberg reports that 65-year old Park will become an adviser to the Asiana Airlines business unit upon leaving his current position on July 31. Bloomberg says an e-mailed statement from Kumho Asiana advises that a replacement for Mr. Park has not yet been selected.
Steve Tidmarsh, formerly managing director of Kumho Tyre UK, joined Bond International as financial director on the 1 July 2010. According to the company, Bond International has a growth plan to increase business by more than 25 per cent over the next two and a half years and Tidmarsh’s appointment is said be a key part of implementing these changes.
Hankook recent record second quarter results contradict the negative predictions of some financial analysts that when Hankook Tire kicks off the second quarter earnings season for auto/auto part makers on 20 July, it will set the tone for a “lacklustre” set of results from the likes of Hankook, Kumho and Nexen. In an investor’s note dated 1 July 2010, Deutsche Bank research analyst Sanjeev Rana had commented: “We expect tyre makers such as Hankook and Nexen Tire to report in line or slightly below consensus results due to the burden of higher rubber prices.” It appears these reports failed to take into account the huge profit jumps of 501 per cent and 43 per cent in the first quarter 2010 from Hankook and Nexen respectively and an 18 per cent increase in sales from Kumho – all of which surprised analysts at the time.
The Imported Tyre Manufacturers’ Association has welcomed its second new member in less than a month. Nordexx, the house brand name of Britain’s NDI Tyre & Tube Supplies and of Denmark’s Nordisk Daek Import A – S has been welcomed by ITMA director Peter Taylor, who described NDI’s joining as further validation of the services ITMA provide to its members in what are very challenging times.
Kumho’s UK distributor Micheldever Tyre Services and alloy wheel manufacturer OZ Racing have formed an alliance to make “ultra competitively priced” wheel and UHP tyre packages available through ECSTA Performance Centres nationwide. The tyre maker says that every sort of vehicle from Fiestas to Ferraris are catered for, and purchasers can choose from the OZ Racing line up of rims or the OZ Racing-designed MSW alloy wheel collection. All rims, Kumho adds, are TÜV approved and manufactured to the highest possible standard. The rims are available for cars, SUVs and MPVs in a “vast array” of finishes and sizes from 14 to 22-inch.
Leicester City Council has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply and service the tyres across its fleet of 883 vehicles, which ranges from civic limousines to 32-tonne refuse collection trucks, and includes over 600 vehicles plated at 3.5 tonnes or below. The new contract will see the fleet supplied with a range of Avon, Taurus, Kumho and Encore tyres and follows a ten year period which saw the council’s tyre needs met by a local independent service provider.
Leicester City Council Fleet Manager Stephen Kerry said: “ATS Euromaster’s wide-ranging expertise also means its staff are as skilled at working on cars and vans as they are on heavy trucks. Plus they’re used to servicing the tyres on all manner of specialist municipal equipment, such as loading shovels, mobile access platforms and compact sweepers,” he adds.
When Hankook Tire kicks off the second quarter earnings season for auto/auto part makers on 20 July, it will set the tone for a “lacklustre” set of results from the Hankook, Kumho and Nexen, according to Deutsche Bank. In an investor’s note dated 1 July 2010, Deutsche Bank research analyst Sanjeev Rana: “We expect tyre makers such as Hankook and Nexen Tire to report in line or slightly below consensus results due to the burden of higher rubber
prices.”
Displaying a wide range of its products on its generously proportioned stand near the main entrance in Hall 3, Kumho marketing manager Wolf Fuder said the Korean manufacturer had experienced a similar level of traffic at its stand to that in the pre-recession year of 2008. However, the make-up of the visitors was different; Fuder commented that there were “more international guests” and fewer from the domestic German market.
The all-new 2011 Ford Fiesta is due for its US launch this summer, and Kumho reports that its Solus KH25 will be fitted as original equipment in size P185/60R15. This H-speed rated tyre, the Korean manufacturer states, is engineered to provide high performance grip and handling in all weather conditions while delivering long mileage.
Having already taken delivery of 16 new trailers this year – 15 sliding bogie skelletals and one box van – trailer supplier Montracon reports that Micheldever Tyre Services has ordered a further 25 more stepframe curtainsiders. Prior to last year the firm only bought used trailers. According to Montracon, that policy changed a year ago and now the company uses a mix of replacements and additions. The curtainsiders are progressively going to work, distributing tyres to the firm’s 12 wholesale warehouses and 49 Protyre retail sites across the UK and will move over six million tyres a year.
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