WAYNE, N.J. – Hankook Tire today announced details of its new plant in Lippo Cikarang, Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia, and celebrated its position as one of the fastest-growing tire companies in the world with a groundbreaking ceremony for its seventh production plant.

The plant, comprised of four major production facilities covering 6.4 million square feet, will act as an export base for the North America and Middle East markets, as well as a regional business hub for emerging Asian markets.

During the first phase of development, Hankook Tire will invest $353 million with initial production capacity of approximately 6 million tires per year. The new plant will employ approximately 1,400 workers by 2014 and is expected to add 2,800 additional jobs by 2018.

Hankook said its strategic investment in Indonesia aims to accommodate the growing demand for its tires, particularly in the United States, with more than 50 percent of the plant’s production dedicated to the U.S. market. Hankook’s projected 2011 worldwide production capacity is estimated to total more than 89 million tires, with its annual global production capability expected to reach 100 million units by 2014.

“This year, we have seen incredible growth and increased demand for our high quality tires in the U.S. market,” said Soo Il Lee, president of Hankook Tire America Corp. “The additional production capacity that the new Indonesia plant is going to provide will mean greater tire availability, increased sales and market share and continued positive growth for us in the United States.”

Hankook Tire America Corp. recently posted a first quarter 2011 increase in sales of more than 26 percent from the first quarter of 2010, after seeing overall U.S. sales climb 21 percent for all of 2010. Additionally, Hankook Tire America Corp. is targeting sales of more than $1 billion for the U.S. market for the 2011 year.

Hankook said its choice of Indonesia is a promising plant location as it is one of the main rubber producers in the world with a total production of 2.92 million tons in 2010 alone. Tire demand and production in Indonesia continues to soar, with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam collectively supplying 95 percent of the world’s rubber. In fact, in 2010 Indonesia’s tire exports increased by 25 percent over 2009, as well as tire sales which increased by 23 percent. Hankook Tire’s investment in Indonesia is expected to grow the country’s national tire industry by 10 to 15 percent.*

The groundbreaking in Indonesia comes on the tail of the recent groundbreaking ceremony for Hankook Tire’s new plant in Yufu Industrial park of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area in China on May 18. The China plant will be Hankook’s third plant in China and sixth globally.

Encompassing over 5.7 million square feet, the new plant, which will start operation by August 2012, will require a $954 million investment and produce truck-and bus and passenger car tires. The plant will be completed by the end of 2015 and will produce 4,500 TBR and 30,000 PCR tires per day. It will have a production capacity of 11.5 million tires per year, among which 1.6 million units will be truck-and-bus tires.

Hankook Tire’s investment in new production facilities is part of its commitment to produce 100 million tires a year by 2014 and become the world’s fifth-largest tire company, one of Hankook Tire’s mid-term business goals. The company consistently invests approximately five percent of its revenue into research and development, operating five R&D centers globally.

In addition, the company participates in world class motorsports events like DTM and Formula Drift to demonstrate its advanced technologies and reinforce the results of its R&D efforts with high-performance results.