South Korea’s Nexen Tire is considering expanding to the US with plans to build its first tyre plant to expand its share of the North American market, according to local media sources.
The company was said to be planning to invest US$1.3 billion to build a factory in the US with capacity of 31,000 tyres/day.
Nexen is reputedly South Korea’s third largest tyre manufacturer after Hankook Tire & Technology and Kumho Tire, and is following in the footsteps of its competitors, both of whom already have major tyre factories in the US.
Hankook Tire last year announced plans to double capacity at its Tennessee plant to 12 million units/year while Kumho has a plant in Georgia with a production capacity of 5 million tyres/year.
Nexen currently operates four tyre plants worldwide, two in South Korea and one in each of China and the Czech Republic.
Nexen aims to select a location in the US by the end of 2023 and start operations in 2028.
The company is also open to the possibility of launching production in the US earlier by acquiring an existing manufacturer or establishing a joint venture if the conditions are right, according to the reports.