Driving Emotion
Hankook unveils their secret facilities to the pressHankook Tire has maintained its presence within the tire industry for over 66 years as one of the fastest growing tire manufacturers in the world: Making its presence known within the past five years, Hankook has risen among the ranks of competitors as the seventh largest tire manufacturer in the world and ranked sixth largest tire manufacturer in North America according to Modern Tire Dealer. Recording over three billion dollars in sales in 2006, Hankook has produced over 67 million tires and sells in 170 countries with over 12,000 employees globally.
Founded in 1941, Hankook built their first tire plant in Daejeon City, South Korea in 1979 followed by the construction of the main R&D center in Korea in 1982. The 20,000 square-meter R&D facility was built 164 km south of Seoul. Sporting the latest in innovative technology, the Daejeon R&D center was built specifically to promote tire research and development. A handful of automotive media, myself included, were given the opportunity to tour through a number of Hankook facilities as each plant showcased the amazing level of research each tire design goes through before making its way onto transport vehicles and into stores. Fatigue analysis, severe climate testing and pH balance composition were just a handful of tests performed by 617 employees housed in their R&D facility. It was during this tour through the Daejeon plant we were able to catch glimpse of the newest UHPT (ultra high performance tire) dubbed the Ventus V12 Evo K110; planned to be released in the U.S. market in early 2008. Key features among the V12 tire are the center-designed solid rib blocks, which enhance braking performance and optimal ground contact pressure, ensuring vehicle control at high rated speeds. The Y-shape pattern design helps vacate and channel water away from the tires while improved side wall stiffness helps maintain tire rigidity during strenuous driving performance conditions.
Less than 300km north of Pusan, Hankook's second facility, the Geumsan Plant, located in the heart of Korea, covers a mind boggling area of 872,000 square-meters with a daily recorded production capacity of 45,000 tires. Hankook is currently undertaking plans to expand the facility an additional 17,860 square-meters in order to facilitate a 50-percent increase in production which adds up to five million units per year in tire production.
Due to strict regulations and production secrecy, we were not allowed to take photos inside the plant, but I was thoroughly impressed with how they took raw rubber material and mixed them before extruding, beading, cutting, building, then curing, before the final inspection. It was truly spectacular and left a lasting impression that even the most jaded magazine editor, such as myself, could appreciate.
Hankook truly goes above and beyond many of their fellow competitors as each prototype tire developed in their plant goes through a rigorous testing procedure on their proving ground facility located within the facility walls. The newly developed wet proving ground consists of 11 corners and is 1,200m in length. Utilizing a skid pad made up of three types of road surfaces (asphalt, basalt and bridport), a team of professional drivers give input to the Hankook engineers on how to further improve their tire designs. It's obvious; these guys do more than just whack out tires to make a simple profit. They pride themselves on what the name Hankook truly stands for.
Hopping aboard a plane we took our final leg of the tour, which landed us in China to visit their production plants in Jiaxing and Jiangsu. The Chinese R&D center located in Jiaxing provides tires for the Chinese and Asian markets by incorporating regional road and weather condition data into the tire manufacturing process-an important aspect to consider when developing tires to withstand the punishing extremes of Mother Nature. Within the Chinese tire market, Hankook tires recently celebrated their 100-millionth tire to roll off the tire production line in China. "Hankook invests approximately five percent of revenue in research and development and develops cutting edge technologies through its five global R&D centers," said Hankook tire CEO, Seung Hwa Suh. Chief Marketing Officer Hyun Shick Cho summed things up by saying investment in R&D remains a key driver of long term competitive advantages." Hankook continues to make a name for itself even in North America-their tires play an important role with numerous competitors in the Formula D Series, time attack vehicles, and have taken home six class titles with their Ventus race tires during the second annual NASA Championships at Mid-Ohio. Only time will tell, not if, but when, Hankook will strike again and climb the ranks of tire dominance just as this once unknown Korean tire manufacturer has flourished into a well respected brand. www.hankooktireusa.com
An aerial shot of the Geumsan plant shows the massive size and complexity of the Hankook facility. | 
Grooving tires can be an arduous task. Just ask the men who put in a hard days' work designing and patterning prototype tires to the engineers spec. I was coaxed into cutting a few samples for the Hankook team as the staff took a break. | 
A group shot of both professional Hankook tire test drivers and various automotive media staff after tire testing on Hankooks' wet track proving ground. |