RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (July 11, 2011) — Kumho Tire Co. Inc. and the Chinese government are in discussions about relocating the South Korean tire maker's plant in Nanjing, China, to an as-yet undetermined location outside the city.
According to a spokeswoman for the company's U.S. subsidiary, Rancho Cucamonga-based Kumho Tire USA Inc., Kumho as well as 172 other companies in the same industrial area have been discussing their relocation with the government since 2009. Over the past few years, residential neighborhoods have been expanding closer to the industrial region where the Kumho plant and other businesses are located, the spokeswoman said, noting that “both the city and local businesses are working towards making accommodations for the local residents to live in the most hospitable environment possible.”
Kumho is the original owner of the plant, which annually produces 15 million passenger car and light truck radial units and 500,000 truck/bus radials. It has about 4,000 workers and has been in operation since the mid-1990s.
The spokeswoman told Tire Business that the local Nanjing government will be covering the majority of the relocation costs. However, “since Kumho is looking to make upgrades from the current facility, they are still in negotiations as to what the exact percentage each entity will be responsible for (paying).”
Kumho anticipates the relocation will be complete in the 2014, she added.