Kumho Tire dedicated its auto tire plant in Macon, Georgia, on May 3. It will be the company’s North American base for its tire production and marketing. A slew of local and Korean dignitaries attended a ceremony led by Gov. Nathan Deal of the State of Georgia and Chairman Park Sam-koo of the Kumho-Asiana Group, among others.
About 300 Kumho executives, state and local government officials and local business representatives attended the invitation-only event for the $450 million project.
In his congratulatory speech, Chairman Park said Kumho Tire has to build its own tire plant in North America, one of the largest markets for both automobile and auto tires in the world, to expand its auto tire market share around the world.
The group kicked off the construction of the tire plant in 2008, but it was suspended for a while during the global financial crisis. Work resumed in 2014 to complete the plant. The new auto tire plant has been turning out auto tires of all size to market them in North America and in Central and South America. The auto tire plant was built at a cost of $450 million on an 80,000 sq. meter plot of land.
At the present time, the plant has the capacity to turn out 4 million auto tires annually, but Kumho Tire plans to boost that to 10 million .
A special feature of the new plant is that is has the Automation Production Unit, a high-tech auto tire production system which Kumho Tire developed, to boost the quality and effectiveness of tire production. About 80 percent of the tires produced at the plant will be supplied to both Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Chrysler. The tire plant is located close to the Montgomery Alabama auto plant of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors at West Point, Georgia.
Production will focus heavily on original equipment orders, with 80 percent of capacity dedicated to OE fitments. Kumho says the plant will focus on ultra-high performance tires.
Kumho is working to build its market share in the U.S.
Recognizing the importance of its OE partnership with Kia Motors in particular, the CEO and president of Kia Motors was among the event’s honored guests in Georgia. According to Modern Tire Dealer statistics, Kumho represents nearly one-third of the market share of Kia’s OE fitments.
North America is home to one of the world’s largest auto and tire 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 tire manufacturer.” said Park Sam-koo, Chairman of Kumho Asiana Group.
“A lot of us have been looking forward to this day for a long time, and we're glad this day is finally here,” said Georgia Gov. Nathan Neal.
During guided tours after a ceremony, employees referred to the site as a “smart factory.” The plant is highly automated, and RFID tags implanted into the initial tire construction materials allow for the tracking of every detail of the tire. A tire can be rolled through a scanner, which rings like a cell phone while in use. Large screens then show a myriad of details about the tire. If there’s a problem with a particular batch, employees can use the scanners to identify and remove problem tires from the inventory.
With the dedication of the Georgia plant, Kumho Tire now has four tire plants in four countries, China, Vietnam, the U.S. and Korea ,with a total annual tire production coming to 690 million units.
North America is the largest auto tire market in the world with around 22 percent of auto tires manufactured annually consumed in the region and expanding the fastest in the world due to its rapidly growing economy.
The growth of an auto tire company depends on its tire sales in the U.S., auto tire industry sources say. Kumho Tire already has an R&D Center in Ohio, which was set up in 1990. The tire maker entered the U.S. market in 1975 and moved its U.S. headquarters from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Georgia, last year.
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A view of the main building of Kumho Tire’s tire plant in Macon, Georgia.
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