Hankook Tire America Corp. and its parent, Hankook Tire Co. Ltd., have aggressive goals to grow in the coming years based on three basic pillars: strategic globalization, technology innovation and what they’re calling “brand value up.”
This effort includes boosting sales by double digits annually in the U.S., growing the number of retail points of sale as well as enhancing Hankook’s brand presence. These initiatives should help South Korea-based Hankook become the fifth largest tyre maker in the world by 2018 from No. 7 today, moving ahead of Pirelli & C. S.p.A. and Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., the company said.
Hankook also plans to beef up its R&D technology globally by hiring 300 to 400 researchers at its Technodome technical center, which is under construction near Daejeon, South Korea, and scheduled to open in 2016.
In addition, Hankook plans to introduce two tyres in the U.S. this year — the grand touring Kinergy GT H436 in May, which will replace the H426, and later this year the Winter I’cept evo2 (W320), which will replace the W310. Hankook will continue to offer the H426 in OE sizes.
Plans also call for developing a dealer council in the near future.
Hankook Tire America executives discussed these aims, plans and strategies in an interview with Tire Business and at a business meeting during its 2015 Partner’s Day attended by about 150 key tire dealers, distributors and spouses Feb. 10 in Riviera Maya.
For its part, Hankook Tire America will focus on leveraging the additional capacity from its Clarksville, Tennese., tyre plant, which is under construction and expected to be producing 5.5 million consumer tyres annually by 2016-2017. A second phase, scheduled to occur in 2018-2019, will double output to 11 million units.
The site also has room for two additional expansions, said Shawn Denlein, senior vice president of sales, during the Partner’s Day meeting.
The US$800 million Clarksville plant, which will service the U.S., Canada and Mexican markets, sits on 469 acres, and is expected to create 1,800 jobs by 2018.
The new plant will provide production “for everyone in this room,” Mr. Denlein said. Having a local plant “makes things easier, easier to do business,” he said. “We don’t have to compete for production [from other Hankook plants], because production is here and servicing this particular market.”
A local plant also offers something else, he said. “When you have a plant it says that you’re here and you’re dedicating yourself to the North American market.”