S. Korean tire-maker to build US plant

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — South Korean tire-maker Kumho Tire Co., Inc., said Tuesday it had signed an agreement to build a 225-million-dollar production plant in the southern US state of Georgia.

The Seoul-based company expects to start the plant's construction in May and said it will employ 450 people when completed.

"The US is one of the greatest tire markets in the world," Kumho's chief executive and president Sae Chul Oh said in a statement.

Kumho's CEO said the new facility would boost the firm's bid to become the world's fifth-largest tire maker by 2015. It presently ranks itself as the 10th biggest tire manufacturer.

Once completed, the Georgia plant will have an annual production capacity of 3.1 million tires. Initial production of car and light...