Hankook Tire announced that its board of directors approved a $1.6 billion investment to expand its Clarksville, Tennessee plant. The investment includes the previously planned phase two expansion that will double the production capacity of Hankook’s passenger car and light truck (PC/LT) tires and adds a phase three expansion with the company’s first U.S. production of truck bus and radial (TBR) tires. Hankook says the addition of the phase three expansion project will bring 400 more jobs to the Clarksville area, for a total of 1,200 new jobs overall.
Since Hankook’s Tennessee plant opened in October 2017, the company says it has produced 5.5 million tires annually for the North American market and generated 950 jobs. The North American market accounted for more than 28% of total Hankook Tire sales in 2021.
Hankook is expected to break ground on the new plant in early 2023, subject to definitive agreements, regulatory approvals and other conditions. Tire production for the new phases of the plant will begin by Q4 2024, and the plant reach full capacity by early 2026, according to Hankook.
