HANOVER,Germany(Oct. 19, 2012)—Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. has relocated its Europe technical center to a new facility in Hanover and said it will add rubber mixing capacity to its passenger and light truck tire plant in Hungary.
In Germany, Hankook has moved its European research and development staff of 45 engineers and tire specialists into facilities in Hanover that offer 70 percent more space than the offices being vacated, the company said. Hankook did not provide the size of either not say what it invested in the new technical center.
In Hungary, Hankook is investing $11.2 million to expand rubber compounding capacity at the Racalmas plant to increase the factory's effectiveness.
The investment will cover the installation of a compound mixing unit and related buildings to strengthen production processes, Hankook said, especially in the first stage of manufacturing. The installation should be completed in the second half of 2013.
The plant, which came on stream in 2009, employs 2,200 and produces 34,000 tires a day in hundreds of different specifications. Hankook did not say how the additional mixing capacity would affect tire manufacturing capacity.