Building of ninth factory
The building of Kumho's ninth tyre factory has begun in Georgia, USA. Kumho expects to invest a total of $165 million in this 5.7 million square feet factory, scheduled for completion late 2009.
It will feature state-of-the-art automated facilities for optimum quality control. The initial capacity of 2.1 million tyres will supply original and replacement equipment markets in the USA. However, Kumho will consider further expansion of the facilities if sufficient demand exists.
Sae-chul Oh, President & CEO of Kumho Tires said at the ceremony, "Establishing a production facility in the world's biggest tyre market will help Kumho respond faster to the needs of customers in the region, while reinforcing our cost and price competitiveness. With the factory complete, it will be possible to provide our high quality tyres to US consumers and an ever growing number of major car makers faster than ever before."
He added, "The plant will further strengthen Kumho's global network, better positioning us to achieve our goal of becoming one of the world's top five tyre companies by 2015."
With the completion of the new factory, Kumho will have a total of nine manufacturing plants strategically positioned around the world. It has three in Korea, three in China and one in Vietnam, which began operations in March this year. A further plant is being constructed in Nanjing, China to produce radial truck and bus tyres.By the end of 2008, Kumho production capacity outside of Korea will reach 33 million tyres, exceeding its domestic production currently running at 32 million tyres. The new plants in Nanking and Georgia will further increase Kumho's global production capacity to 77 million tyres by 2009.

New R & D centre
Kumho has begun the construction of its new R&D Center in Young-In, South Korea. The c.£35 million, 34,842 square metre facility is due for completion by the end of 2009.
"Innovation is at the heart of our competitive advantage and this state-of-the-art facility will strengthen our global R&D network, Propelling us toward our goal of becoming one of the world's top five tyre manufacturers," said Sae-chul Oh, President of Kumho Tires. "The Kumho R&D Center will help us attract top performing scientists and engineers, who will develop creative products to fit our customers needs."
The centre, located less than an hour's drive from Seoul, will serve as a hub to coordinate the activities of Kumho's existing research centres in the UK, USA, China and Korea. It will feature the latest equipment and world-class facilities for testing and analysing tyre noise and vibration, in addition to the all-important laboratories. The building will be certified as 'green'- the designation given to Korean facilities built within strict guidelines regarding environmental impact, energy usage, and nature conservation and carbon footprint. As part of its overall strategy to bolster R&D, Kumho will double its number of research employees to 1200 by 2015. This will help the company focus on developing eco-friendly technologies and creative products not offered by other manufacturers.Kumho has been developing tyres for more than 50 years.

Exciting Times at Lassa!
In addition to launching three new tyres and a new distributor support programme at the recent Reifen 2008 (full details in the July issue), Lassa also launched a new Corporate Identity and a new International web site.
The payoff for the Lassa logo is "For Those Who Know".
All buyers of Lassa tyres will "Know" that Lassa is their tyre of preference, and it indicates there is a special commercial quality and benefit associated with the purchase of a Lassa tyre. In addition, there are six iconic product descriptors.
These represent the product benefits experienced by the end user - they are deliberately intended to be suggestive and reflective. The new International web site can be found at: www.lassa-international.com.