Kumho Tire

Kumho Tire Co., Inc. (also operating as Kumho Tires, Kumho Tyre and Kumho Tyres depending on business locations; formerly known as Samyang Tire) is a South Korean tire company. Headquartered in Gwangju, South Korea, it was a subsidiary of the Kumho Asiana Group until 2018, after which the company became a part of Chinese tire manufacturer Doublestar.[3]

Kumho Tire Co., Inc.
Public
Traded asKRX: 073240
LSE: KHTC[1]
IndustryAutomotive, aerospace[1]
Founded1960 (1960) (as Samyang Tire)[1]
FounderPark In-chon
Headquarters
Gwangju
,
South Korea
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Kim Jong-ho (President & CEO)
ProductsTires[1]
Revenue US$ 3.57  billion (2013)[2]
US$ 104.87  million (2013)[2]
Number of employees
8,579
ParentDoublestar (2018–present)
Korean name
Hangul
금호타이어
Hanja
錦湖타이어
Revised RomanizationGeumho Taieo
McCune–ReischauerKǔmho T'aiŏ
Websitehttp://www.kumhotire.com/

Operations
Automobile tire Kumho Ecsta HS51 205/55 R 16 (2017)

An industrial conglomerate chaebol, Kumho Tire manufactures a full range of tire under the Kumho and Marshal brands.

Kumho Tire runs three manufacturing facilities in South Korea: the Pyeongtaek Plant, the Gokseong Plant and the Gwangju Plant which includes the Kumho Research and Development center mentioned below. There are a further three plants in China: the Tianjin Plant, the Gaoxin Plant (in Nanjing) and the Changchun Plant. There is also one plant in Vietnam in the Binh Duong Province and one plant in the United States (Macon, Georgia).[4]

Kumho Tire exports tires worldwide and has a global network of sales organizations.

It has three centers for research and development, with the largest in Gwangju, South Korea. The other two centers are in Akron, Ohio and Birmingham, England. These service the US and European tire markets respectively. Other research centers are located in Buchholz (Germany) and Tianjin (China).

Kumho Tyre (UK) Ltd (a subsidiary of Kumho Tire Co., Inc.) was created in 1977. Administrative functions are based in Sutton, Surrey and the marketing department is operated from Birmingham.

On 15 March 2011, China Central Television (CCTV) reported that there were serious irregularities in the tire production process of Kumho tires. It reported that Kumho used excessive amounts of recycled rubber as raw materials to reduce costs, which could lead to the sidewall of tires to bulge and potentially rupture.[5][6] Soon after the program was aired, Kumho Tires released a statement denying the claims. It explained that the proportion of recycled rubber should be calculated by weight, not by quantity, and that 'it was inaccurate to rely on video footage to determine the quality of tires'.[7] On 21 March 2011, the president of Kumho Tire (Kim Jong-ho), and the president of Kumho Tire China (Li Hanxie) released an official statement of apology through CCTV, and issued a recall of all the affected products.[8]

In 2017, it was announced that Chinese tire manufacturer Doublestar would acquire the majority stake in Kumho Tire. The deal was finalised in 2018, and the company then exited from the troubled Kumho Asiana Group in the process.

Sponsorships

In 2007, Kumho became a Platinum Partner of the Manchester United Football Club. The company is classed as an Official Club Sponsor. In partnership with Manchester United, Kumho launched a "Play Safer"[9] campaign designed to increase youth road safety awareness.[10]

The company also sponsors other motoring events such as European Formula 3 racing.[11]

On February 13, 2014, Darren Rovell of ESPN announced on his Twitter page that Kumho was named the official tire of the NBA.

Kumho Tire is one of the sponsors of the La Liga.

Associates

Daehan Tire since 1991.

See also

References
  1. "Company Profile for Kumho Tire Co Inc (073240)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  2. http://www.markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Business-profile?s=A073240:KSC%5B%5D
  3. "Kumho Tire separates from Kumho Asiana Group". Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-09-08. Retrieved 2010-08-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Kumho in drama over 'defects'- Economy- China Daily Asia". www.chinadailyasia.com. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  6. "Kumho Tires Recalls Products in China". english.cri.cn. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  7. "Kumho Denies Chinese Media Claims on Recycled Rubber - Tire Review Magazine". Tire Review Magazine. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  8. "锦湖轮胎全球总裁道歉 宣布召回所有违规产品_财经_腾讯网". finance.qq.com.
  9. "Tyre News - Tyres and Industry Comment". Tyre News.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2010-08-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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