The European production site of Hankook to be extended by a new unit - VIDEO REPORT
2018. 03. 23.
The South Korean premium tire manufacturer has announced the expansion of their plant in Rácalmás by a new truck tire production unit. The expansion, which amounts to EUR 290 million will be the fourth development in the history of the European factory opened in 2007, and plays a decisive role in Hankook Tire’s long-term strategy visioning that the European market needs shall be met locally in the truck and bus tire branch, even as an original equipment. The implementation works will be started in the first half of 2018, while production will expectedly be launched two years later, with the creation of 150 new jobs.
Hankook Tire, originally founded as the Chosun Tire Company, has got a leading role in the development of transportation; they were the first to develop hose-free, radial snow tires in Korea. Today, the company, having its seat in Seoul, produces tires for cars, vans, trucks, and buses. Hankook Tire is the world's 7th largest tire producer and partners with leading premium car manufacturers; therefore, many models roll off the production line on Hankook tires.
In 2006 the company chose Hungary as the location for its European factory; thus, they invested EUR 885 million to build one of the world's most modern tire factories in Rácalmás, near the city of Dunaújváros. The factory started operation in June 2007 and today it has more than 3300 employees thanks to the developments implemented since. The more than 900 size- and model variants cover all the segments of cars, SUV's, and light trucks. The capacity has increased to 3.5 times since the beginning, while the company continues to ensure excellent production quality.
The previous, third investment phase was completed in the Spring of 2015, through which the yearly production capacity of the Hungarian factory reached 19 million pieces, which covers the European demand, and represents nearly one third of the company's global income.
In the past years, the company has strengthened its position also in the European segment of medium- and large size truck and bus tires: Hankook has been the factory tire supplier of Schmitz Cargobull since 2013, Mercedes-Benz and MAN since 2014, and Scania since 2016. At the moment, one of the Korea-based factories supply tires to the European truck tire market, this shall be replaced by the new Hungarian plant. The construction begins in June 2018, production is planned from June 2020.
