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J.B. Kim new Kumho Tire USA President

Kumho Tire has appointed Mr. J.B. Kim to the position of President Kumho Tire U.S.A. He will be based in the company’s US headquarters in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where he will oversee Kumho’s US operations.

Kim joined Kumho Tire in 1986 in the company’s OE division. He worked in a variety of sales capacities for Kumho in the company’s OE and replacement market divisions in the Middle East and Europe. Most recently, Kim was responsible for doubling sales in his capacity with Kumho Tires Latin America.

1st September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bianchi Victorious at Zolder F3 Masters

Jules Bianchi stormed to the top of the podium at Zolder yesterday in the RTL GP Masters of Formula 3, heading an ART Grand Prix trio and overcoming pole-positioned team-mate Nico Hlkenberg, who was defending the title he won last year. Following torrential rain 36 competitors from 18 countries took to the track on Kumho’s ECSTA wet tyres for 28 challenging laps. This was the 18th running of the event, which invites the top-ranked participants in the F3 Euro Series and the British F3 Championship.

11th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho USA Tyre Prices to Increase up to 10%

Kumho Tire USA has announced price increases of up to 10 per cent, with additional in line adjustments, on tyres sold in this market. Prices of passenger, light truck and truck and bus tyre prices, which most recently increased in May, will increase as of September 1, 2008.

6th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Unloads its Kumho Share

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. says it has completely liquidated its holdings in Kumho Tire. The purchaser, Cayman Islands based company Beacon, is said to have purchased the 10.71 per cent share in the South Korean tyremaker for 108.7 billion won (£54.6 million).

Kumho said in a filing to the Korea Exchange that Beacon had purchased the 7.5 million shares, each valued at 14,501 won, held by Cooper Tire & Rubber. In addition to the 108.7 billion won, Cooper will receive interest backdated to May 31.

6th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Reports Strong Customer Satisfaction Survey Results

Kumho Tires reports that its Solus KR21 tyre, aimed at the North American market, has come out on top in category in the 2008 half-yearly consumer satisfaction survey carried out by the country’s largest on-line tyre distributor. The Tire Rack survey, which can be found at tirerack.com/survey/index.jsp, included a total of 27 tyres in the standard touring all-season tyre category, and the Kumho product was declared joint winner along with the Yokohama Avid TRZ.

The Kumho KR21 received high scores in all 12 survey categories, including intention to re-purchase, ride comfort, steering responsiveness, wet traction, ice traction, deep snow traction, light snow and deep snow traction. Particularly high scores were received in the areas of ride comfort, tread wear, and traction on roads. Tire Rack also posted its own test results of the Kumho tyre on its website, commenting that this standard touring all-season tyre meets the needs of drivers of coupes, sedans, and minivans by providing excellent ride comfort and a low noise level. The online distributor assessed the tyre to be durable, resistant to abrasion, low-noise, and high-performance, providing excellent steering and cornering performance to drivers.

5th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Address the Question: Who in the UK Needs Winter Tyres?

Kumho Tyres has been an established supplier of winter tyres for the Scandinavian and Central European markets and therefore has a wide range of treads to cope with all the varieties of adverse weather conditions that characterise the season in these parts of the world. For these markets, the weather is the overbearing reason for the comparative strength of the cold weather tyre market; they are the traditional stronghold for companies marketing products capable of dealing with the icy climate.

However, the UK – with its expanding, though still essentially low-key winter market – represents something of a challenge, even to an experienced marketer of the product such as Kumho. The company addresses this issue by immediately posing the question: Who needs cold weather tyres in the UK?

1st August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Says It Has Share Buyer

Kumho Asiana Group claims it has found an investor to buy out Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s share in Kumho Tire Co. The unnamed buyer would take over Cooper’s 11% stake in the South Korean tiremaker, shares valued at around $110 million.

“We have found an investor to take over the Kumho Tire stake and we are at the final stage of closing the deal,” said a Kumho Asiana official in news reports. “We should be able to announce the details soon, on around August 1. The investor is foreign.” (Tire Review/Akron)

30th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper to Sell 10.71% Kumho Share

Kumho Tires is looking for investors to acquire a £54.9 million share in itself currently owned by Cooper Tire & Rubber, reports a company spokesperson. The US based firm intends to sell the 10.71 per cent share it acquired in 2005 for 109.8 billion South Korean won.

Cooper has a right to sell the shares at 14,650 won per share, the spokesperson said, however Kumho shares are currently down 3.1 per cent, at 8,500 won. It is thought that Kumho will face difficulties finding investors.

29th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hankook and Kumho Resume Tyre Supply to GM Daewoo

South Korean vehicle manufacturer GM Daewoo Automotive and Technology recommenced production at is Bupyeong facility on July 22 following the resumption of its tyre supply. According to a GM official, “Hankook Tire and Kumho Tire resumed their supplies from this afternoon. Both tyre makers told GM Daewoo that they accepted an order by the court to not suspend tyre supply.”

22nd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pricing Clash Halts Korean Plant Production

GM Daewoo, the third largest auto manufacturer in South Korea, has released a statement to news sources saying that the company has stopped auto production at its Bupyeong manufacturing plant after OE tyre suppliers halted shipments to the factory. Hankook and Kumho, who between them provide over 85 per cent of the tyres fitted to vehicles at the GM Daewoo facility, have suspended supplies in a dispute over tyre prices.

The two tyre manufacturers have been requesting a hike in tyre prices of 12 per cent in the wake of soaring production costs. According to sources within the industry, GM Daewoo has agreed in theory to a price rise, but does not accept the figure placed on the rise by the manufacturers. However, Hankook’s spokesman has stated that “GM Daewoo refuses to negotiate and told us to withdraw the request.”

18th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Gets OE Deal from Ford

Its Solus KH16 radial in size 215/45R17 will be an OE tire on the 2009 Ford Focus. Kumho will be supplying some 200,000 of the tires to Ford in the deal.

“This contract is an important step for Kumho Tires; we now have supply contracts with all of the big three automakers in North America,” said Sae-chul Oh, president and CEO of Kumho Tire Inc. “These companies have recognized that Kumho Tires shares their commitment to quality, technology and performance. We will continue to expand our North American presence to become one of the top five global tire manufacturers by 2015.” (Tire Review/Akron)

7th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Workers Strike Over Wage Dispute

Partial day strike action at Kumho’s two main South Korean facilities is likely to cost the company about KRW 2.98 billion (£1.4 million) a day in lost output. Strike action initiated by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) began on July 2, and Kumho stated in a filing with the Korea Exchange that the strike calls for each shift and the factory to remain idle for four hours a day.

2nd July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Tire Increases Q1 Revenue – but Income Remains in the Red

The Kumho Asiana Group has posted its first quarter 2008 results, and despite achieving what the company has called ‘favourable business results’ group-wide and increasing revenue in its Kumho Tires business division, income figures for the company’s tyre operation continued to be negative. The entire group recorded the highest quarterly revenue in the company’s history, KRW4.98 trillion (£2.45 billion). From this came an operating income of KRW270.2 billion (£132.93 million) and net income of KRW41.1 billion (£20.22 million). Kumho Tires posted an increase in revenue of KRW 71 billion (£34.93 million) or 15.6 per cent to reach a figure of KRW 524.7 billion (£25.81 million). Similarly, operating income rose by KRW 6.7 billion (£3.30 million) or 30.3 per cent compared to the same quarter last year, to KRW 28.8 billion (£14.17 million). The operating margin was 5.5 per cent.

16th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Introduces Eco-Friendly Tyres at Essen

Amongst the 30 products Kumho displayed at the Reifen Essen show was the company’s new eco-friendly tyre, the Solus KH19. This flagship environmental product is based on proprietary technologies including KADAS (tyre structure simulation technology), ESCOT (tyre contour optimisation technology) and TTIA (tyre-terrain interaction analysis). The Solus KH19 boasts a 35 per cent improvement in rolling resistance and a six per cent decrease in CO2 emissions. Its construction is of eco-friendly materials, including low PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) oils and non-petroleum fillers, and a tread pattern that Kumho refers to as ‘nature based’. This pattern, says the South Korean manufacturer, is not only intended only to reinforce the tyre’s green image; it also provides a smoother ride. The Solus KH19 will be available from this autumn.

“This is a milestone year for Kumho as we strengthen our focus on making ‘greener’ products,” said Sae-chul Oh, CEO and president of Kumho Tires. “These new tyres improve fuel efficiency, lower CO2 emissions and run more quietly. We have also re-engineered our manufacturing process to make it more environmentally friendly. Kumho has taken this leading role in environmental issues because it allows us to provide tangible benefits to our customers, while simultaneously helping the planet.”

13th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho, BFGoodrich Joint Winners of 4×4 Magazine Ultimate Tyre Test

The Kumho Road Venture MT KL71 and BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A have been named joint winners of 4×4 Magazine’s ‘ultimate tyre test’. In conducting the test, in which 4×4 Magazine aimed to discover the UK’s best mud terrain tyre, the tyres were reportedly subjected to the key obstacles and conditions encountered throughout the country. Size 235/85 R16 tyres from eight manufacturers were in turn fitted to a 2007 Land Rover Defender 110 and subjected to six challenging real world tests – mud climb, bog run, side slope, rock crawl, gravel and tarmac braking – at a venue in South Wales.

The Kumho and BFGoodrich products finished the test eight points ahead of their nearest rivals, the Goodyear Wrangler M/T and Maxxis Mudder Buckshot. The magazine found the Kumho KL71 radically different in appearance from all its competitors and, in fact, to be the best looking as well as the joint best performer. The Kumho was awarded top marks on the rock crawl and gravel braking tests and performed with credit on the mud climb and bog run. The BFGoodrich tyre, said 4×4 Magazine, is an item considered by some to be the original and best mud terrain tyre. “Slippery mud and dangerous grass were its key strengths, with both obstacles proving no problem for the traditional American,” reported the magazine.

12th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors