Korean-American Joint Venture Hyundai ARC Korea Establishes 'Automotive Airbag' Factory in Gimcheon

Investment of 100 Billion KRW by 2024, Creating Over 300 New Jobs

Panoramic view of Gimcheon General Industrial Complex.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] Hyundai Global Motors Co., Ltd. and American ARC Automotive Co., Ltd.'s joint venture, Hyundai ARC Korea Co., Ltd., will officially begin investment with a groundbreaking ceremony for a vehicle airbag inflator (airbag gas generator) production plant in the Gimcheon 1 General Industrial Complex on the 3rd.

The groundbreaking ceremony will be attended by about 30 people including Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, Kim Choong-seop, Mayor of Gimcheon, Bae Sung-yoon, CEO of Hyundai Global Motors, Kwon Sung-hee, CEO of Hyundai ARC Korea, Kwak Jin-gyu, Head of ARC Motors Korea Branch, and provincial assembly members.

Hyundai ARC Korea Co., Ltd. will invest 100 billion KRW (42.5 million USD in foreign direct investment) by 2024 to establish a vehicle airbag inflator production plant with a site area of 77,619㎡ and a single-floor building of 20,000㎡. The number of new jobs is expected to be around 300.

Hyundai Global Motors (HGM) established the first Hyundai Motor commercial vehicle assembly plant (SKD·CKD) in Vietnam in 1998 and has exclusively supplied Hyundai Motor trucks and buses for export to Vietnam. It is a pioneering company in the overseas market expansion of Hyundai Motor commercial vehicles, expanding its range to cash transport vehicles, refrigerated trucks, tank lorries, and military vehicles.

On the afternoon of the 3rd, officials attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Hyundai ARC Korea Vehicle Airbag Inflator Production Plant' held at the Gyeongbuk Gimcheon 1 General Industrial Complex are holding the first shovels.

Founded in 1940, American ARC Automotive Co., Ltd. is a specialized company with 70 years of know-how in automotive parts and materials production, operating six production plants in four countries including the United States, Mexico, China, and Macedonia. It is a global company ranked third in the world market share supplying core automotive airbag materials to domestic and overseas automobile companies.

The inflator, a core material for airbag manufacturing, is currently dependent on imports, but Hyundai ARC Korea plans to produce its own products within two years by transferring the original core technology for inflator manufacturing from American ARC and supply them to Hyundai and Kia Motors. It also plans to enter the Southeast Asian market in the future.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, "For the industrial advancement of the Gyeongbuk region, it is necessary to combine our companies' facility operation and manufacturing technology with foreign companies' original core technology, capital, and management know-how through strategic joint ventures with foreign companies." He added, "We will make further efforts to provide generous support and build infrastructure conducive to business so that more foreign companies can invest in Gyeongbuk in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.