Nexen Tire Corp. plans to invest USD7 million to construct a research and development center in Richfield, Ohio.
Nexen’s director of technology at Richfield, Don Lee, said that the company plans to build a 2,800-square-meter building in a site they bought in Richfield. The building will cost about USD4.6 million.
The South-Korean tyre manufacturer plans to break ground later this year for the one-year construction process to begin. The building is set to be operational by 2017. Lee said these details are not yet finalized, but the R&D center will create 30 jobs when construction is complete.
“We have a plan to expand our businesses to other American automotive companies,” he said to Cleveland Business. “To actively expand the business, we believed that we need more research and development functions in this country.”
The new building will bring all of Nexen’s operations under one roof. It currently has a 744-square-metre office building and a 465-square-metre development space.
The tyre company supplies original equipment tyres to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Hyundai and Kia America with. Lee said the company hopes to secure future business with Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota.
“We believe Richfield offers the best option for our new tech center,” Lee said to Cleveland Business. “In addition to that, to do business with our OE customers, including (Fiat Chrysler), we need to travel to Detroit. This area has very easy access to Interstate 80. We can save more than an hour both ways compared to our competitors.”