Kumho Tire
Kumho Tire (formerly known as Samyang Tire) is a South Korean tire manufacturer. It is a subsidiary of Chinese tire conglomerate Doublestar.[2] Kumho Tire was previously operated as a business unit of the Kumho Asiana Group.
Type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Automotive, aerospace |
Founded | 1960 | (as Samyang Tire)
Founder | Park In-chon |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Il Taik Jung (President & CEO) |
Products | Tires |
Revenue | ₩2.55 trillion (2018) [1] |
₩78.8 billion (2018)[1] | |
₩182.6 billion (2018)[1] | |
Number of employees | 8,579 |
Parent | Doublestar (2018–present) |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 금호타이어 |
Hanja | 錦湖타이어 |
Revised Romanization | Geumho Taieo |
McCune–Reischauer | Kǔmho T'aiŏ |
Website | http://www.kumhotire.com/ |
Operations
An industrial conglomerate chaebol, Kumho Tire manufactures a full range of budget tires under the Kumho, Marshal & Zetum 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(DOT Plant Code C0/1C0), the Gaoxin Plant (DOT Plant Code 022,14T,17U) (in Nanjing) and the Changchun Plant(DOT Plant Code 1D0, 1FE). There is also one plant in Vietnam in the Binh Duong Province and one plant in the United States (Macon, Georgia).[3]
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 2023, 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 in the Tianjin factory (DOT Code C0/1C0) to reduce costs, which could lead to the sidewall of tires to bulge and potentially rupture .[4] 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'
.[5]
On 21 March 2023, the president of Kumho Tire (II Talk Jung), 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.
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" campaign designed to increase youth road safety awareness.[7]
The company also sponsors other motoring events such as European Formula 3 racing.[8]
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.
References
- "Kumho Tire Co., Inc. Business Report FY ended Dec. 2018". Marklines. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- "Kumho Tire separates from Kumho Asiana Group". 29 December 2017. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-09-08. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "Kumho Tires Recalls Products in China". english.cri.cn. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- "Kumho Denies Chinese Media Claims on Recycled Rubber - Tire Review Magazine". Tire Review Magazine. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- "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. Archived from the original on 2020-09-17. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- "Manchester United, Kumho Tyres and the Foundry help kids cross better - News - THE DRUM - Advertising, Design, Media, Marketing, Digital, PR - News, Information & Jobs". Archived from the original on 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- "Kumho Tyres | Motorsport". Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2010-08-25.