Hankook Tire broke ground on the construction site of a new research center – “Hankook Technodome” – in Daejeon, Korea, today.
The tiremaker plans to invest $266 billion won on the R&D center, which is scheduled to complete construction in 2016.
The facility is the tiremaker’s seventh research center and will play a bridging role between Hankook’s headquarters and overseas research facilities, the tiremaker said. The facility will also help the tiremaker become a top tier brand, it said.
The R&D center will focus on developing eco-friendly and high-end products, Hankook said.
“We strongly believe that acquiring more robust, more advanced R&D capabilities is a crucial step in our growth formula towards becoming a global top-tier tire brand,” said Seung Hwa Suh, Hankook vice chairman and CEO. “The Hankook Technodome has been designed to reflect our confidence in R&D and will be a meaningful milestone in Hankook Tire’s history. In addition, combined with our proactive corporate culture, the high-tech R&D facility will provide a great foundation for us to realize a management structure based on quality and progressive leadership.”
Hankook is also planning to develop an eighth research center in the North Gyeonsang Province. This center, set to complete in 2018, will feature a testing center with 10 driving circuits.
