Cooper Tire & Rubber’s passenger replacement tyre volumes declined 4.3 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2006, Deutsche Bank analysts have reported. While this was slightly better than the market watchers feared, raw materials rose by more than expected, ruling out any advantages. Even the $4.3 million Cooper is believed to have gained as a dividend from its shares in Kumho was not enough to offset the higher raw material costs.
(Akron/Tire Review – Korea Times) Corporate competitiveness is determined by speed, not by volume, Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo told employees this week. In his speech to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the group’s foundation at its headquarters in Seoul, Park said, “Speed is the controlling weapon in the competition among enterprises in the 21st century.’’
It seems that the announcement by Kumho that it is to spend US$155 million on building a factory at Binh Duong in Vietnam (30th April) is only part of the whole story.
(Akron/Tire Review) Confirming earlier reports, South Korea’s Kumho Tire Co. has announced that it will build a new $155 million tyre plant in Vietnam. According to the Korea Times, the new plant will come on-stream in 2008 with an annual capacity of 3.2 million tyres. Kumho signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s state-run builder Becamex in Binh Duong province to establish the wholly owned plant there. Construction on a 314,000-square-meter site just north of Ho Chi Minh City will begin in the second half of this year.
Kumho has supplied some 85 per cent of the tyres in use on official Winter Olympics shuttle cars. Athletes, officials, members of the Olympic committee, VIPs are all relying on Kumho I’Zen XW KW17 snow tyres when it comes to being transferred between competition sites.
(Akron/Tire Review) Administrative Law Judge Paul J Luckern of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has found that the Kumho Petrochemical Co. (KPC) of Seoul, Korea is not in violation of the ITC’s unfair trade practice laws, with respect to its importation of tyre chemicals into the US.
Kumho Tyres has announced relocated to new offices in Sutton, Surrey. In a ceremony held on 10 February, H S Lee, president of Kumho Tire Europe GmbH, officially opened the new facility together with the managing director of Kumho Tyre (UK) Ltd, Steve Tidmarsh.
Hankook Tire Co has closed a deal with Volkswagen to supply 440,000 tyres per year for the German manufacturer’s Golf and Bora models. The tyres will be fitted the fifth-generation Golf and will be sold in Europe from 9 February. In addition, the manufacturer will also provide 100,000 tyres a year for Volkswagen’s Bora model.
The deal will take Hankook’s overseas annual shipments for finished cars to $150 million – 12 per cent of its total export volume. Hankook sees the OE contract as a strategic move that will enable it to enhance its share of the European replacement market. Both the Bora and Golf will be fitted with Ventus Prime K105 (205/55R 16) and the Optimo K406 (195/65R 15).
When Tyres & Accessories visited the Kumho stand at last week’s Autosport show it was a hive of activity – an achievement that is no mean feat considering it was press day. The centre of attention was Modern Tyre Service/Kumho Tyres’ announcement that the leading Northern Irish retailer would sponsor Irish Tarmac Rally Champion Eugene Donnelly.
The Kumho Group plans to build a $100 million automobile tyre plant in Ho Chi Minh, the local Thanhnien news source has reported. Nguyen Huu Tin, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, said the city had approved the project in principle and suggested a 30 hectare site in Cu Chi District. The plant, which will employ the latest technologies, will make products for both the domestic market and exports to neighbouring countries.
Hankook Tire Co Ltd expects a difficult global market this year due to higher raw material costs and oversupply, a senior company executive told Reuters.
Hankook, which exports up to 70 per cent of what it produces, has also been under pressure from a softer euro against the dollar, which cuts profits for exporters to the region.
(Akron/Tire Review) Kumho Tire USA Inc will be relocating its US headquarters and its California warehouse from Fontana to Rancho Cucamonga, California, during the weekend of 10-11 December, and plans to be up and fully operational on Monday 12 December. Kumho said the new 830,300-square-foot building, named the Haven Distribution Center, is more than three times the space of its previous home. The facility features 136 truck docks and 144 trailer stalls.
Kumho’s ECSTA Performance Centre (EPC) network, which accounts for a significant percentage of its UK tyre sales, has recently formed a dealer council to represent all the centres involved and further the image of Kumho tyres to the consumer.
Formed with the full support of Kumho Tyre UK and Micheldever Tyre Services, the national distributor of Kumho tyres, the 11 members of the council have been voted in by the EPC retailers and include a representative of Kumho Tyre and Micheldever.
(Akron/Tire Review) At the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Kumho Tire USA Inc introduced its new Ecsta AST high performance, all-season tyre as well as its new Road Venture MT, reportedly the widest and tallest light truck tyre the company has ever offered.
The Ecsta AST tyre, designed for sports cars and tuned sedans, according to Kumho, features a directional tread design with dual-angle cross grooves and asymmetrical lateral grooves for cornering grip, hydroplaning resistance and wet traction.
Goodyear is reportedly considering returning to the Formula One motorsport series. F1total.com reports that the American manufacturer is considering getting involved in the sport as a way of responding to the improved market performance that Michelin and Bridgestone have achieved through their involvement. The F1 website speculates that Goodyear could apply for the FIA contract as soon as the series reverts to using a single tyre supplier. Goodyear could also be competing with Kumho for a future F1 contract, the website states.
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