Hankook has revealed its plan for the next large-scale expansion at its factory in Rácalmás, Hungary.
Since its opening in 2007 the factory has been continuously expanded and updated, and the fourth phase of the expansion – at an investment of around €290m (US$360m) – is expected to create approximately 150 new jobs and provide a production capacity of over 550,000 medium and heavy truck and bus tires yearly.
Manufacturing capacity at the facility has reached more than 55,000 tires per day, equating to a current annual production capacity of up to 19 million tires of almost 900 size and model variations for passenger cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks. Since the first phase of opening, output has already increased three and a half times.
At present, Hankook supplies the European truck tire market mainly from one of its Korean factories. After seeing a significant and stable increase in demand over the years, the decision was made to establish a Europe-based truck and bus tire production facility at the company’s Hungarian factory. Construction on the new unit is set to begin in June 2018, and it is scheduled to start production from around June 2020.
“As a strategic partner to many leading vehicle makers, Hankook Tire has become well-known worldwide for its first-class technology and premium quality tires in the car and SUV segment, and for some years in the medium and large size truck and bus segment, too,” explained Han-Jun Kim, president of Hankook Tire Europe.
“Thus we have noticed a sharp increase in demand for our truck and bus tires within the European market, and we hope to soon satisfy our customers increasing demands with the help of our new Hungarian truck and bus tire unit.”
March 28, 2018
