Chohyunbeom "Challenge as a Global Tire Leader" Hankook Tire Opens 'Hankook Technoring' (Comprehensive)

380,000-Pyeong Site with 13 Tracks
Chairman Cho Hyun-beom: "Leveraging Growth Engines... Strengthening Synergy with Future Business"

Korea Techno Ring Control Tower View
Photo by Hankook Tire

[Taean (Chungnam) = Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] “Test tracks are among the most important and heavily invested facilities in the automotive industry. Based on high-quality real-vehicle testing, we will devise ways to maximize synergy with future businesses and utilize this as a driving force for innovative growth.”

Cho Hyun-bum, Chairman of Hankook Tire & Technology, has taken proactive steps to respond to the rapidly changing mobility environment and leverage new growth engines. By opening Korea Technoring, Asia’s largest test track, he aims to strengthen synergy with future businesses and challenge the position of a global tire leader through new technology development.

On the 25th, Hankook Tire & Technology opened ‘Korea Technoring,’ Asia’s largest test track, in Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. Equipped with a total of 13 tracks, Korea Technoring will be used for various tire performance tests necessary for product development going forward.

The newly unveiled Korea Technoring spans 1.26 million square meters (380,000 pyeong) and features 13 different tracks designed to test high speed, noise, ride comfort, and more. It is the largest facility in Asia, roughly the size of 125 soccer fields.

At this site, tire performance tests necessary for innovative product development, such as tires for electric vehicles and supercars, will be conducted. Additionally, evaluations for all vehicles including trucks and buses are possible, and the facility is fully equipped with a control tower, office building, tire workshop, and electric vehicle charging stations.

Cho Hyun-bum, Chairman of Hankook Tire & Technology, delivering a welcome speech at the Korea Technoring opening ceremony

With the completion of Korea Technoring, Hankook Tire expects the entire company to be organically connected, generating synergy. This is because it adds Korea Technoring, responsible for testing, to the headquarters ‘Technoplex,’ which handles mid- to long-term strategy and product planning, ‘Korea Technodome,’ which develops core tire technologies, and eight global production bases. Koo Bon-hee, Vice President in charge of R&D Innovation at Hankook Tire, said, “Korea Technoring meets the strict and diverse needs of global premium automakers,” adding, “It will serve as a cutting-edge test center that can lead the future automotive industry, including electric vehicles and autonomous driving.”

At the event, a Q&A session followed with attendees including Chairman Cho, CEO Lee Soo-il of Hankook Tire, President Ahn Jong-seon of Hankook & Company, Chief Operating Officer Park Jong-ho of Hankook Tire, and Vice President Koo Bon-hee of Hankook Tire R&D Innovation.

Hankook Tire also expects stronger cooperation as Hyundai Motor Company plans to build a ‘Driving Experience Center’ within Korea Technoring. CEO Lee Soo-il said, “Hyundai Motor recognizes Hankook Tire’s development capabilities, so we expect an increase in original equipment (OE) tire supply for new vehicles.” Park Jong-ho, Chief Operating Officer of Hankook Tire, also mentioned, “We plan to utilize driving test data from the Hyundai Motor Group Driving Center for new product research and development.”

Korea Techno Ring Overview
Photo by Hankook Tire

Along with this, the company shared its outlook on performance. Hankook Tire recorded sluggish results in the first quarter. On a consolidated basis, operating profit for the first quarter of this year was 126.1 billion KRW, down 32.2% compared to the same period last year. Sales increased by 10.8% year-on-year to 1.7907 trillion KRW. Net profit fell 41% to 103.2 billion KRW.

In particular, rising raw material prices and increased logistics costs due to the global supply chain crisis this year have been burdensome, but the company expects improvements in the second half. CEO Lee Soo-il of Hankook Tire explained, “Costs for container ships have risen significantly, and if things go as expected this year, we anticipate spending close to 1 trillion KRW. However, if we operate costs rationally, there is ample room for improvement. We are striving for sales growth of over 10% and double-digit growth in operating profit compared to last year.”

Finally, CEO Lee said, “Top global companies produce about 200 million units, but we are still at around 100 million units,” adding, “We are reviewing investments to further expand production volume.” He emphasized, “We will ensure that Hankook Tire becomes a leader in the global tire industry.”

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