FAIRLAWN, Ohio-Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. has opened its 20,400-sq.-ft. Akron Technical Center, a project designed to help the subsidiary of South Korean tire maker Kumho Industrial Co. bolster its presence in North America.
The building, located just outside Akron in Fairlawn, will house research and development technology to allow Kumho to ``develop products for the U.S. market competitive with the major companies,'' said Guy Edington, the technical center's managing director.
The center cost more than $4 million, including $1 million for the property and about $1.3 million in capital equipment, Mr. Edington said at the building's April 23 dedication ceremony. Kumho broke ground at the site on April 17, 2000, and began moving in on Dec. 28, he said.
The company operated out of a 6,000-sq.-ft. facility since 1995 and a 2,300-sq.-ft. building when it first established a technical presence in Akron in 1990.
The new center has room to handle laboratory and analysis capabilities the previous one did not; plus, the nine-acre site is large enough to expand the facility, which the firm plans to do within the next five years.