Hankook expands North American presence with first U.S. plant

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Hankook Tire America Corp. has opened its first U.S. tire manufacturing plant, an $800 million facility in Clarksville that is expected to bring 1,800 jobs to Tennessee.

The plant, Hankook's eighth worldwide, is projected to produce 5.5 million car and light truck tires annually in its first phase. The plant will enable Hankook to provide North American tire dealers and consumers more efficiently with products and services while supporting existing and future original equipment partners, the company said.

Those who attended the grand opening, held Oct. 23, included Seung Hwa Suh, global CEO of Hankook, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, South Korean Consul General Seong-jin Kim and other state and local officials.

About 100 dealer representatives from across the country and representatives from suppliers globally also attended.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Mr. Suh said the investment in Tennessee "is part of our ongoing commitment to innovation, state-of-the-art technology and service for our customers. This high-tech, sustainable facility will enable Hankook to execute every phase of business in the U.S., from R&D to production and sales."

Hankook broke ground on the plant in October 2014 supported by economic incentives from the state of Tennessee, Montgomery County and Clarksville.

Mr. Haslam said the investment represents "tremendous economic growth and opportunity for Tennesseans" and already has brought "significant contributions to the local community through job creation and its community outreach."

When the second phase of development is complete, Hankook will double the plant's production capacity to 11 million units annually. Development of the second phase is still in the discussion and planning stage, said Wes Boling, public relations manager for Hankook Tire America.

"We don't have a specific timeline for when that's going to be built. We're looking at likely the next five years as a general timeline," Mr. Boling said.

According to Mr. Boling, there could be additional phases, but they would depend on demand,

A potential test track at the facility is still under discussion, but no concrete plans were disclosed.

The plant has brought about 1,000 jobs to the local economy already, and later infrastructure expansion is expected to bring more, Mr. Boling said. Hankook also moved its U.S. headquarters to Nashville last year and hired more than 100 employees to oversee operations there.

The local workforce is the top advantage for locating in Clarksville, with Fort Campbell Military Base and Austin Peay State University nearby, Mr. Boling said. From Fort Campbell, about 500 soldiers retire every month, and about a quarter of those want to stay in Montgomery County.

"They have military training, which teaches them respect for authority, work ethic. Plus, they're veterans who we want to serve because they've served us," Mr. Boling said.

Austin Peay State has an electronics program alongside others that prepare students for the types of roles for which Hankook is hiring, Mr. Boling said. Other technical schools in the area are also providing skilled employees.

Logistically, Clarksville also made sense to be near OE manufacturers such as Nissan North America Inc., Volkswagen of America Inc., and General Motors Co. to continue good relationships as the state becomes a new automotive alley, Mr. Boling said.

"It also makes sense to be right on the interstate, within an eight-hour drive of a vast portion of our nation's population, and our suppliers and customers," he said.

Tennessee, both locally and at the state level, also provided about $120 million in incentives to build the plant in Clarksville, of which $72 million was cash. Hankook also received about $2.72 million to move its North American headquarters from New Jersey to Nashville. The state also assisted in finding and training workers, Mr. Boling said.

The state and local governments' alignment in working with Hankook together also encouraged company officials that they would be able to work with both state and local officials effectively going forward, he said.

The 1.5-million-sq.-ft. facility sits on 469 acres adjacent to Interstate 24, about nine miles northwest of the city of Clarksville in north central Tennessee.

It is built with sustainable design and construction practices and also has a high level of integration with automation, with every phase of production, Mr. Boling said.

"We've achieved with this plant a very nice balance between hiring a robust workforce and employing automation that's going to enable us to be efficient and create high-quality products," Mr. Boling said. "A lot of the jobs we're hiring are operations professionals or mechatronics-based skill sets to help operate that machinery."

The plant will produce passenger car and light truck radial tires from Hankook's North American lineup, including the Kinergy GT, a touring all-season tire that recently was approved for OE fitment on the 2018 Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Both the passenger car and light truck segments have seen significant volume growth in the American market, according to Mr. Boling.

Hankook is among five tire manufacturers to have a presence in Tennessee. Nokian P.L.C. recently broke ground in Dayton, Tenn., on its first North American plant.

Other manufacturers with facilities in Tennessee include Bridgestone Corp. (facilities in LaVergne, Warren County); Carlstar Group (facilities in Clinton and Jackson); and Specialty Tires of America Inc. (Unicoi).

The new plant signifies Hankook Tire's growing business in the U.S., Mr. Suh said.

"I think the biggest message we heard back was, 'It's so exciting that you're making products for the U.S. in the U.S.,' " Mr. Boling said. "Nobody's going to mistake us for a company that started here. We're very Korean, and that's good.

"There are certain advantages and innovation that come with our Korean headquarters. But now to add our American grit to it and have that 'Made in U.S.A.' label, that's huge for us, and hopefully will give us some strategic advantages moving forward."