SEOUL, South Korea — Kumho Tire Co. Inc. has agreed to provide tire manufacturing technology to a Pakistani battery producer that is planning to branch into tire production.
At a Sept. 27 ceremony in Seoul, Kumho signed a 10-year technology-transfer agreement with Century Engineering Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. covering technologies "required to manufacture 28 tire products for passenger and commercial vehicles."
Based in Karachi, Pakistan, Century Engineering — d.b.a Phoenix Batteries — is a car-battery manufacturer that aims to build a tire plant with a capacity of 5 million units.
Under the deal, Kumho Tire will receive $5 million for the supplied technology as well as royalties equal to 2.5 percent of Century's annual sales for 10 years, the South Korean company said in a statement.
The scope of the agreement covers design, quality control, training as well as manufacturing process.
Century Engineering has as yet not disclosed other details about its plans for tire production, including the site and timetable.