Kumho Industrial is to donate 3,300 truck and bus tyres to North Korea. The donation is worth $300,000 and follows a similar donation last year. Kumho states that North Korea had requested the donation in return for allowing a rally to be held on its territory.
Kumho Industrial, parent company of, among others, Kumho Tires, is currently overwhelmed with debt, due largely to the performance of is Asiana Airlines subsidiary. The company has formulated a self-rescue plan, which involves raising money through selling shares in the tyre company. Few details are publicly available, but it is believed that two foreign financial institutions (one from Hong Kong, the other from the USA) have taken a shareholding worth US$ 1.2 billion in the tyre manufacturer, which will continue to run with the same management. The plan also involves Kumho selling off one of its three petrochemical plants.
The largest supplier of tyre cord in Korea, Hyosung Corporation, is currently suffering a strike. The country’s three tyre manufacturers, Hankook, Kumho and Nexen, have all expressed concern if the strike is prolonged. To obtain sufficient supplies of tyre reinforcing materials, the companies have been talking to Kolon Industries, the second largest supplier of these materials, and are also investigating the possibility of sourcing outside Korea.
J. M. Kim is the new managing director of Kumho UK and he comes to the new post with his own ideas and plans. He talks to TYRES & ACCESSORIES about the difference between the UK and markets elsewhere in Europe, especially the emphasis on price. He wants to raise the brand image – and selling price – of group products and he believes that this can be achieved by linking the Kumho brand to motorsports performance. Mr. Kim also talks about forthcoming changes and his ideas of working with importers to get a better price for the group’s tyres; something which he admits will not be easy to achieve.
Kumho Tire is seeking OE business in Europe and North America. The company has announced expansion of production in Asia, for example in the Nanjing factory.
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