Hankook Tire signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 16 April with Korean fleet management service provider UB1st. The cooperative relationship between the two companies focuses on creating a new type of fleet management service by combining Hankook Tire’s offline service capabilities with vehicle data collected by UB1st’s platforms, such as UbiKhan.
Tyre manufacture at Nexen Tire’s Changnyeong plant in South Korea resumed yesterday after a two-day break in production in order to implement “protective measures” against coronavirus. In disclosures submitted to the Korea Exchange (KRX), the tyre maker reported its intention to suspend tyre production in Changnyeong on 1 and 2 March, and resume operations on 3 March.
Hankook Tire chief executive Cho Hyun-bum was arrested in Seoul on allegations including bribery and embezzlement on Thursday 21 November 2019, according to local news sources including The Korea Times and Reuters.
Michael Haupt, formerly a tyre development specialist at Porsche, has been appointed head of the ‘Premium OE’ business sector at the recently-opened Nexen Central Research Institute (Nexen univerCITY). In his new position, Haupt will be responsible for creating premium tyres for OEM customers.
Donghyun Jin has always been a big city lad, but of late he’s downsized. From Seoul and its population of ten million to a village of 3,850 in Germany’s Black Forest. Donghyun Jin, senior director of the Manufacturing division at NICE Holdings (majority shareholder of the BBS Group since 2015) arrived in the village of Schiltach as interim chief executive officer of BBS in order to navigate the alloy wheel manufacturer through the turbulent waters of Dieselgate and the introduction of WLTP.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced today that it has fined Kumho Tire and Nexen Tire for forcing South Korean retailers to sell tyres at or above specific set prices.
SK Innovation reports that it is planning to invest just under 1 trillion won (a little less than US$1 billion) in its second car battery plant, this time in Hungary. The company has selected Komaron City in northern Hungary for the investment of 945.2 billion won.
It may not be the best-selling Korean tyre brand worldwide, but at home Kumho outsells its domestic rivals. Data from the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association (KOTMA) indicates that 6.52 million replacement market Kumho tyres were sold in South Korea in 2018. This is more than 40 per cent of all locally-made tyres sold in the country.
The growing strength of the automotive relationship between the UK and South Korea has been highlighted today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) during its trade mission to the country.
A new owner has arrived on the scene, but it is business as usual for Kumho Tire in Korea. The tyre maker has launched its first new tyre since Doublestar became Kumho Tire’s largest shareholder last month. More than 350 dealers from across South Korea attended the unveiling of the Kumho Majesty 9 Solus TA91 yesterday.
A very small percentage of Kumho Tire’s output in recent years was shipped to the Republic of Korea Air Force for its F-16 fighter and T-50 trainer jet, and this military business was a complicating factor in the sale a 45 per cent stake in the tyre maker to China’s Doublestar Tyre. Following the vote to accept Doublestar’s KRW 646.3 billion (£441.9 million) bid, Kumho Tire has requested that South Korea’s government cancel its designation as a defence-related company. This request is now being reviewed.
Hankook Tire shares that its state-of-the-art research and development centre in South Korea, the Hankook Technodome, has been granted ISO/IEC 17025 certification from A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation).
After months of uncertainty, union members within the Kumho Tire workforce voted on 30 March to accept the sale of a 45 per cent stake in the tyre maker to China’s Doublestar Tyre. It is understood that just over 60 per cent of voting union members were in favour of the sale, sparing Kumho Tire from receivership. The deal with unionised employees was sweetened by guarantees of their job security for at least the coming three years.
The clock is ticking, the labour union representing Kumho Tire’s workers still opposes the planned Qingdao Doublestar Tire acquisition, and creditor the Korea Development Bank (KDB) doesn’t think much of the alternative bid proposals announced this week. Time to find an alternative to liquidation is running out.
Sale agreement or receivership – according to creditors, 30 March remains the deadline for Kumho Tire. Yonhap News Agency writes that Lee Dong-gull, chairman and chief executive officer of the Korea Development Bank, has ruled out an extension to this deadline. This means that should its labour union not agree to Qingdao Doublestar Tire’s purchase of a 45 per cent share in the company, from Monday 2 April Kumho Tire will be bankrupt and placed under court receivership.
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