WAYNE, N.J. – Hankook Tire America Corp. announced that it recently participated in the White House’s SelectUSA Roundtable on investing in America, demonstrating commitment to its continued growth in the U.S. market. The Roundtable meeting with President Obama, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett and National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients was attended by Hankook Tire America Corp. President Byeong Jin Lee.
This is the second Roundtable meeting with the president in which Hankook Tire has been invited to participate within the span of one month. Hankook Vice Chairman and Global CEO Seung Hwa Suh was invited to participate in the SelectUSA Global Road Show with President Obama during his visit to South Korea in April.
Hankook announced its plans last year to locate its eighth global manufacturing plant in Clarksville, Tenn., and is expected to break ground by the end of this year with tire production beginning by 2016. Hankook will invest more than $800 million for a new state-of-the-art plant and create approximately 1,800 full-time jobs for the region.
By planting a firm stake in the U.S. market, Hankook is building momentum to becoming a long-term player in the market. The company says its presence will allow it to continue to build high-quality tires and grow its reputation and brand recognition in the U.S. The company is also investing in research and development. Its Akron Technical Center has played an important role in developing products specifically for the U.S. market and will continue to help meet its goal to be a top tier brand in the U.S.
“We look forward to building our first U.S. manufacturing plant, which will provide additional capacity for Hankook’s growing business in the U.S. market,” said Byeong Jin Lee, president, Hankook Tire America Corp. “By investing in America, we will continue to provide our U.S. customers, consumers and carmakers with high-quality tires and leading service.”
Hankook’s First U.S. Plant
After a review of several states and locations last year, Hankook chose to locate its first U.S. plant in Clarksville, Tenn. From a geographic perspective, Clarksville is located in a very central part of the United States and also provides a very wide, established transportation network including rail, plane and highway infrastructure. The area also provides ideal access to inland waterways such as the Mississippi River. These features offer Hankook Tire a number of shipping methods to efficiently ship tires from the new factory location to customers. Also, the Clarksville area is comprised of a population of roughly 280,000 people, offering a viable workforce from both the immediate area as well as neighboring Nashville.
