Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon.

Hyosung Advanced Materials will invest $152 million (about 170 billion won) to build a new tire cord plant in the Thang Industrial Zone in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam.

Tire cords are a part of the “Core reinforcement” designed to reduce abrasion and maintain tire shape in the case of a penetration. The tire cord produced by Hyosung Advanced Materials ranks first with a 45 percent share in the global polyester tire cord market.

Hyosung has so far invested $2.9 billion to make Vietnam a 2nd production center.

Hyosung invested $1.5 billion and set up Vietnam Dong Nai Corp. in the Nhon Trach Industrial Complex near Ho Chi Minh City in 2007. Dong Nai Corp. posted 1.7 trillion won in sales in 2017 and accounted for 1 percent of Vietnam’s total exports in the year.

Hyosung established a production operation in Ba Ria-Vung Province in southern Vietnam early this year. The company is building a polypropylene (PP) plant, dehydrogenation (DH) factory and an LPG storage tank with $1.3 billion in investments.

About Hyosung Advanced Materials

Hyosung Advanced Materials began as a business unit dealing with industrial yarn as part of Dongyang Nylon and Dongyang Polyester, the founding fathers of Hyosung Group, and has continued to grow to become a leading global material vendor offering some of the world’s finest products based on proprietary technologies and non-stop innovation.

CEO Hwang Jung-mo said in its website, “Our products including high strength industrial yarn and fabric and materials for steel wire are widely used in a variety of industry sectors including automotive, civil engineering and architecture, agriculture and military logistics.

We maintain our competitive edge by developing high caliber global products including tire cord, yarn for automobile seat belts and fabric for airbags, and developing and commercializing new materials that will help us grow sustainably.”

“Our goal is to transform ourselves from a vendor of products featuring world-class quality and performance to a solution provider that prioritizes user safety and comfort.” Hwang said.

He said, “We truly appreciate your encouragement and support for us and pledge to channel our resources to R&D efforts and innovation to repay our thanks with solutions that can help improve your quality of life.”

A view of a production plant in the Nhon Trach Industrial Complex. (Photos: Hyosung)