Kumho Tires Co., Inc., a Korean company and the 10th largest tire company in the world, signed an agreement on January 29 to build a $225 million tire manufacturing facility on a 127-acre site in Sofkee Industrial Park in Macon, Georgia.
Sae Chul Oh, Ph.D., CEO and president of Kumho Tires Co. Inc.; Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, Ken Stewart, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Macon Mayor Robert Reichert; and Charlie Bishop, chairman of the Bibb County Board of Commissioners, all attended the signing ceremony, along with other distinguished state and county officials and guests.
Kumho officials said the first phase of the plant will cost $165 million and will have an annual production capacity of 2.1 million tires. The plant's second phase will cost $60 million and will raise the plant's total annual capacity to 3.1 million tires. The plant will initially employ approximately 400 people in the first phase and a total of 450 people when the second phase is competed.
The company expects to break ground on the first phase of the plant in May. The 5.5 million square foot plant will feature state-of-the-art automated equipment (developed by Kumho's research and development center in Korea) that provides excellent quality control.
The plant will produce passenger car and light truck radial tires for the original and replacement equipment markets in the U.S. When the first phase of the U.S. plant comes on line at the end of 2009, Kumho expects the company's annual global production capacity to be 77 million tires. The second phase of the U.S. plant is slated to be completed in 2011.
"The U.S. is one of the greatest tire markets in the world," said Dr. Oh. "Setting a base of production here will help Kumho gain more market share. This new plant will help Kumho reduce freight costs and will also set up a stronger base for the company to achieve its goal of becoming the fifth largest tire company in the world by 2015."
"Kumho Tires' decision to locate its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Bibb County is a testament to the Central Georgia workforce," said Charlie Bishop, chairman of the Bibb County Board of Commissioners. "The Bibb County Board of Commissioners would like to thank Kumho Tires for the confidence they have shown in our citizens by locating in Bibb County. This project would not have been possible if not for the collaboration between the state, the Bibb County Board of Commissioners, the Bibb County Board of Education, the Macon Bibb County Industrial Authority and the Macon Water Authority."
Established in 1960, Kumho Tire Co., Inc., of Seoul, South Korea, had 2007 sales of $2.4 billion. Kumho manufactures and distributes a complete line of tires for passenger cars, light trucks and heavy-duty trucks. Kumho has manufacturing facilities in Korea and China and operates technical centers in Birmingham, England, and Akron, Ohio. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Kumho Tire U.S.A. is the U.S. distribution arm of Kumho Tire Co. In addition to its 830,000-square-foot headquarters and central distribution facility in Rancho Cucamonga, the company operates four additional distribution facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus and Dallas. For more information, visit the Kumho Web site at www.kumhotire.com.
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