Kumho Archives - Page 41 of 51

Kumho Announces Executive Appointments

Kumho Tire USA Inc. announced that D.H. Ham has been named CEO of the company, in addition to his present role as president. J.H. Kim, who had been CEO for about a year, was reassigned by Kumho Tire Co. to a post with Kumho Asiana.

Rick Brennan, who had been director of brand marketing for Kumho, was promoted to vice president of marketing, and will report directly to Ham.

Mike Leverington, who had been in charge of Kumho’s marketing efforts, was named director of dealer programs.

James Rees was promoted to senior regional sales manager, and was also named Kumho’s salesman of the year. (Tire Review/Akron)

17th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

South Korean Manufacturers Sign OE Deals

News

South Korea’s two leading tyre manufacturers have each entered into original equipment agreements with international manufacturers. The larger of the two deals has been signed by Kumho, who has agreed to supply 400,000 tyres to Chrysler for the company’s Dodge Journey SUV. The value of the agreement has not been disclosed.

The deal signed by Hankook also involves SUV tyres. The Korean company will supply 70,000 tyres for the Volkswagen Tiguan compact SUV. Again, financial details of the OE supply contract have not as yet been made available.

16th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho revamps V710, Adds LX Platinum

Product News

Kumho is making some improvements to its championship-winning Ecsta V710 and is adding eight more sizes to the tyre’s lineup. First introduced in 2004, the V710 is Kumho’s top-of-the-line DOT competition tyre. The tyre has won more than 75 SCCA Solo National Championships in the last four years, as well as dozens of divisional Club Racing championships, the company said.

“Even though the V710 has continued to fare well in competition and in independent comparison tests by magazines such as Grassroots Motorsports, we knew it was time for some changes,” said Rudy Consolacion, Kumho motorsports manager. “We raised the bar when we introduced the V710 three years ago, and with the changes we’re making we’ll raise the bar again.”

15th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho: “We Will Continue to Invest in Vietnam”

Product News

During a state visit to South Korea the leader of Vietnam, Nong Duc Manh, met with Kumho Asiana chairman Sam Koo Park to discuss issues of economic cooperation. Mr. Park attended a lunch meeting with the secretary general of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, at which the two men spoke of ways to increase economic cooperation and general exchange between Korea and Vietnam.

In his welcome address to the secretary general, Mr. Park stated: “We will continue to invest in Vietnam as well as carry out social contribution activities that will benefit the local community…We sincerely look forward to increasing mutual exchange and cooperation between the two countries and wish Korea and Vietnam every future prosperity and a fruitful partnership for a long time to come.”

12th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Petrochemical Increases Stake in Kumho Tire

Product News

The London Stock Exchange’s Regulatory New Service reports that Kumho Petrochemical has increased its shareholding in Kumho Tire Co., Inc. The majority shareholder raised its shareholding in the tyremaker from 44.65 per cent to 44.77 per cent through the purchase of 85,000 common shares. Kumho Petrochemical now holds 31,339,160 shares in the company.

10th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Names New US R&D Centre Chief

Product News

(Tire Review/Akron) Former Continental Tire North America executive Terry Edwards has been named vice president of the Kumho America Technical Center, located in Fairlawn, Ohio. Edwards will oversee day-to-day operations of Kumho Tire (USA) Corp.’s US research and development facility.

6th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Rally Ireland First WRC Victory for Kumho

Product News

November 15 to 18’s Rally Ireland gave Kumho its first ever win in a World Rally Championship event when Niall McShea drove his Kumho-shod Subaru Impreza WRX STi to outright victory in the rally’s Production Car Class. The 31-year-old driver, who originally hails from County Fermanagh, capped off what Kumho has called a ‘landmark year of motorsport’ – the manufacturer also relished another significant victory in 2007, winning the LMP2 class at Le Mans after only three visits to the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The choice of tyres during this year’s WRC was possibly never more critical than at Rally Ireland, a round that drivers such as reigning World Champion Sebastian Loeb admitted was perhaps the most difficult they had ever competed in. The notoriously slippery roads were constantly covered in mud and it rained throughout the event. The resulting treacherous conditions put paid to many hopes, including those of Works Ford driver and former World Champion Marcus Gronholm.

3rd December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

South Korean Agency Believes Hankook Factory Deaths Linked

Product News

According to a report published in South Korea’s The Korea Times newspaper, the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency reported on November 28 that the deaths of 15 workers at a tyre manufacturing facility in the South Korean city of Daejeon between May 2006 and October 2007 are seen to be a “collective outbreak.” This means, adds the paper, that a possible work related connection is seen between the deaths, as all occurred within a short time to employees working in the same area.

30th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

‘Manufacturers…Drive the Grey Market’

News, UK News

Almost six years to the day after the Levi versus Tesco ruling (see page three for more on this), Kumho UK managing director, Steve Tidmarsh, used his recent NTDA Tyre Wholesalers Group (TWG) speech to address the subject of grey importing in a refreshingly direct fashion. “The grey market,” he observed, “always seems to increase when supply rates are poor.” He continued: “For some reason this enrages wholesalers, but let us be fair, it is often exploited by them. However, to balance that, it is also right to state that it is the manufacturers who drive the grey market and currently with the weak US dollar products are a-plenty,” he explained.

29th November 2007/by Chris

Brityrex 2009 Appoints Steering Committee

Product News

Peter Gaster, group managing director of KRT and current chair of the NTDA, has agreed to lead a new steering committee, which was formed by the NTDA to support the organisers of Brityrex in the run-up to Brityrex 2009. Alan Baldwin, David White, Ashley Croft and Darren Duguid are just a few of the other well known industry names that have committed their time to the project (full list below). “We are delighted to attract such a wide range of talent from our sector and I look forward to working with the group to further develop this vital show for the UK tyre industry,” Peter Gaster commented. The first meeting of the steering group will take place in London on Thursday 6 December.

19th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Close to US Tyre Plant Decision

Product News

(Akron/Tire Review) Kumho Tire Co. is indeed planning to build its first US tyre plant, and hopes to announce its location by the end of this year. Dr. Sae Chul Oh, Kumho’s president, revealed the plans at last week’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Company officials said that as many as five locations in Georgia and Alabama are being considered. The South Korean tyremaker is seeking a location that gives it the best access to US auto plants, a skilled labor force, optimum labor costs and ample access for workers and management. The plant will be based on Kumho’s modular Automated Production Unit technology, which it unveiled a few years ago in South Korea.

At the same time, Oh said, the company is also considering a plant for Europe. Oh said that for now only one will be built, and it appears the US is the first choice. A European plant would most likely be located in Eastern Europe.

8th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Plans to Lift Capacity by One Fifth

Product News

Plans are afoot to increase Kumho Tire’s global capacity by 20 per cent in the coming year. The company’s CEO and president, Dr. Sael Chul Oh, has commented that this growth would be fulfilled in part by the Korean tyremaker’s operations in China; two of Kumho’s three established plants in the country are scheduled for expansion. A fourth facility is also currently being built in China.

In 2006 Kumho had a global capacity of 45.3 million tyres, and plans to increase this to 56.4 million by 2008 appear to have been met and surpassed ahead of schedule, with the manufacturer reported to possess a current worldwide capacity of 60 million units, through which it generates US$12 billion in annual tyre sales across 180 countries.

1st November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Revels in Le Mans and F3 Successes

Product News

Kumho’s European motorsport division has enjoyed considerable success across a range of motorsport series in 2007. Perhaps the highlight of the year was the success of the Le Mans LMP2 class-winning Lola Zytek of Binnie Motorsports. As the car was shod with Kumho Tyres, Binnie’s success represented an historic achievement for the Korean tyre manufacturer, competing at Le Mans for only the third time.

Kumho supported both the Binnie Motorsports entry, comprised of Bill Binnie (US), Allen Timpany (GB) and Chris Buncombe (GB), and the Kruse Motorsport Pescarolo Judd of Tony Burgess (Can), Jean de Pourtales (Fr) and Norbert Siedler (Aut). The Binnie Car won LMP2 outright and finished 18th overall. Sadly the Kruse car did not survive the full 24 hours.

Said Bill Binnie: “We experienced just about every type of weather during the race from dry/warm conditions to torrential rain and used Kumho’s full arsenal of tyres as a result. They all performed admirably and were a key element of our victory.”

31st October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Launching New Luxury Touring Line

Product News

(Akron/Tire Review) Kumho Tire USA plans to launch a new luxury touring tyre at the upcoming SEMA Show. The Ecsta LX Platinum features an asymmetrical tread, three dimensional “waffle” sipes, and a jointless nylon cap, and comes with a 60,000-mile limited treadwear warranty, the company said. The tyre has a UTQG rating of 600 AA, and will be available in 36 H-, V- and W-rated sizes covering 14- through 19-inch wheel diameters.

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Kumho Plans Concept Vehicle with ‘Chameleon’ Tyres

Product News

Kumho Tires has put its hand to creating a concept car, or at least a concept for a concept car, and the result is a vehicle that uses tyres not only in places you’d expect to find them. The Epoch Concept, as the car has been named, features a chassis made from bamboo and body panels from recycled tyre tread rubber – both features intended to offset the vehicle’s carbon footprint. Propulsion is planned as taking place – bearing in mind that so far the Epoch exists only at the idea stage and is not actually a working concept – by means of Magnetic Levitation units integrated into each of the vehicle’s four wheel hubs; these would purportedly generate zero friction and allow for maximum torque.

25th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

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