Kumho Tires, a South Korean tyre manufacturer that provides passenger, performance, light truck, competition and commercial tyre products, has completed their new state-of-the-art production facility in Macon, Georgia. With an annual production capacity of four million tyres, this will serve as a foundation to expand the company’s presence and enhance their share market in North America.
The completion ceremony was held on May 2 with some 300 people on hand, including Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia, Mayor Robert Reichert of Macon, Korean consul general in Atlanta Kim Seong-jin, Chairman Park Sam-gu of Kumho Asiana Group and CEO Lee Han-Seob of Kumho Tire, to commemorate the first of its kind and Kumho’s first and only manufacturing facility in the US.
The construction of the Georgia plant started in May 2008 but was suspended due to the fallout from the global financial crisis. It was resumed in 2014 and completed earlier this year, making the plant ready for mass production. Built with a total budget of US$450 million, the plant stands on an area of 5,704,872 square feet and has a gross floor area of 861,112.8 square feet. It boasts an annual production capacity of four million tyres, which Kumho plans to raise incrementally to 10 million.
The Georgia plant is equipped with a cutting-edge proprietary system dubbed Automated Production Unit (APU) that will help boost product quality and manufacturing efficiency. In addition, a new lot tracking system (LTS) using radio frequency identification (RFID) combined with laser guided vehicles (LGVs), unmanned carriers that move along pre-determined routes, ensures a fully-automated movement of products, which allows for real-time production control on a strict first-in-first-out basis.
“North America is home to one of the world’s largest auto and tyre markets. We believed a production base on this crucial continent is a must if we are to significantly expand our presence in the market in our bid to become a top tyre manufacturer.” said Park Sam-gu, Chairman of Kumho Asiana Group, at the completion ceremony, “Along with this state-of-the-art facility, Kumho will put into place an advanced management system for day-to-day operations so that all employees can be proud of their company. Kumho Tire will also strive to make the best plant the pride of the entire community.”
This is Kumho’s third overseas production base after the ones in China and Vietnam. It will mainly manufacture 17-inch tyres or larger tyres for passenger cars and ultra-high performance (UHP) tyres, 80% of which are expected to be sold as original equipment (OE) tyres to global automakers in North America including Hyundai, Kia and Chrysler.
Being aware that North America is the world’s largest tyre market consuming 22% of all tyres produced globally, Kumho desires to get ahead in the region’s OE market in order to grow further and become a force to be reckoned with in the global market. Given the new plant is located close to Hyundai’s plant in Alabama (184 miles) and Kia’s plant in Georgia (110 miles) and that US southern states are home to manufacturing facilities of global automakers, Kumho is now better positioned to secure stable sales of OE tyres and potential sales of replacement tyres.
Kumho Tire entered the US market in 1975 and the Kumho America Technical Center (KATC) launched in Akron, Ohio in 1990. Production in the new plant, sales and customer service, which was relocated from Los Angeles to Atlanta last year, will allow Kumho to ensure focus and consistency in its operations so that it can increase work efficiency and provide its customers with better products and services.
Source: Kumho News