Kumho Opens First US Facility in Georgia - Tire Review Magazine

Kumho Opens First US Facility in Georgia

KumhoMaconPlantKumho Tire Co. celebrated the opening its first U.S. production facility in Macon, Ga., on May 2.

The celebration including a ribbon cutting, plant tours and tree planting ceremony. Several local, state, and federal officials, as well as Kumho executives were on hand for the ceremony.

“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-gu, chairman of Kumho Asiana Group.

“Along with this state-of-the-art facility, Kumho will put into place an advanced management system for day-to-day operations so that all employees can be proud of their company,” Park shared.

Sitting on 5.7 million square feet of land, the Macon facility has an annual capacity of 4 million tires and Kumho has plans to raise the capacity to 10 million, the tiremaker said. The site will produce 17-inch or larger tires for passenger vehicles, with roughly 80% of the tires being used as original equipment by global automakers in North America such as Hyundai, Kia and Chrysler.

Kumho Asiana Chairman Park San-gu.

With roughly 365 employees, the facility is considered a “smart” plant and is highly automated. The plant is equipped with a proprietary system called the Automated Production Unit (APU) to help boost manufacturing efficiency and a new lot tracking system (LTS) using radio frequency identification (RFID) combined with laser guided vehicles (LGVs).

Construction for the plant started in May 2008, but was suspended due to fallout from the global financial crisis. In 2014, construction resumed and was completed in early 2016.

Macon is the tiremaker’s third overseas production base. Kumho also operates plants in China and Vietnam as well as Korea.

You May Also Like

Yokohama Rubber reveals 2024 motorsports activity plan

Yokohama said participation in motorsports activities is crucial to its efforts to strengthen the Advan and GeoLandar brands.

Yokohama-Nitrocross

Yokohama Rubber revealed its motorsports activity plan for 2024. The company said participation in motorsports activities is crucial to its efforts to strengthen the Advan and GeoLandar brands and is again participating in a wide variety of motorsports events around the globe, from top-category to grassroots events.

Yokohama Rubber will again supply its Advan tires to many teams participating in motorsports events, such as Japan’s Super GT, the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Yokohama Rubber’s GeoLandar tires will be supplied to teams participating in off-road races in North America and Asia, including the Baja 1000, King of the Hammers, the Mint 400 and the Asia Cross Country Rally.

Autel Energy Showcases EV Charging Solutions, Electrified Bronco at CES

At CES, Autel Energy showcased its suite of EV charging solutions and an electrified 1969 Ford Bronco.

Autel-U.S.-Enters-EV-Charging-solutions-Industry
2019 Newsmakers: Bridgestone Americas

Nearly all products in the Firestone family of tires have been upgraded over the past three years, and Bridgestone is on track to have all of its consumer tire portfolio across both the Bridgestone and Firestone brands either upgraded or replaced by the end of 2020.

Bridgestone-Newsmakers-800x400
2019 Newsmakers: Nokian Tyres

Nokian Tyres opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility and launched numerous new products. See what’s in store for 2020.

Newsmakers-Nokian-800x400
2019 Newsmakers: Nexen Tire America

Nexen Tire opened its North American Technology Center and debuted the Roadian GTX. Find out what’s in store for 2020.

Nexen-Newsmakers-800x400

Other Posts

TIA’s Advanced Farm Tire Service training to take place in June

The training class for technicians in the agricultural and farm tire industries is set to take place June 11-14.

TIA_training-
Maxxis-sponsored athletes make podium, overall top 10 at Mint 400

Maxxis athletes Michael McFayden, Ethan Ebert and Trey Gibbs had podium finishes at the Mint 400 on Maxxis RAZR XT tires.

2024-mint400-maxxis
Sun Auto Tire reveals winner of Ford Bronco Sport giveaway

Lowell Anderson entered the giveaway at his local Sun Auto Tire & Service store while receiving a routine oil change.

Sun-Auto-Bronco-giveaway
Nokian Tyres holds bracket challenge on worst roads in North America

In 2023, the tiremaker’s audience voted Quebec as the province or state with the worst road conditions on the continent.

Pothole-Protection-from-Nokian-Tyres