Premium Tires
Nexen Tire invests 330 billion won in the expansion of its Changnyeong Plant located in South Gyeongsang Province to supply more premium products.
The company announced on March 4 that it kicks off the second-phase capacity expansion within this month in the manufacturing facility that had started its operation in March 2012. The project is scheduled to be completed late next year and then the factory’s annual production capacity reaches 11 million units of tires. Nexen Tire is expecting that the project will result in decreased average production costs and higher operating profits down the road.
The Changnyeong Plant has already undergone a capacity expansion at a cost of 530 billion won and is currently manufacturing six million units of tires a year, mainly premium products such as original equipment (OE) tires, eco-friendly tires and super high-performance tires exported to global markets. The company is also anticipating that the capacity expansion will contribute to the invigoration of the regional economy by creating 4,000 or so new jobs by 2018, 50% of them on the part of its partner companies.
“Our total investment in the facility expansion, including the first and second phases, will amount to 1.5 trillion won by 2018,” said Kang Byeong-jung, chairman of the tire manufacturer, adding, “Once the investment is completed, the Changnyeong Plant alone will produce 21 million units of tires each year to raise the company’s total yearly production to 60 million units with the facilities in China and Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.”