Hankook expanding, redefining place in U.S. tire market

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico—You don't get to be a Top 5 tire maker without a little help from your partners.

And as Hankook Tire America Corp. pursues its ambitious growth strategy, it's also working to maintain and strengthen relationships with partners, the partners have been and will continue to be key to its success.

"We need to make a profit, and we want you to make a profit with our product," Williams told tire dealers at Hankook's annual partners' meeting, held south of Cancun, Mexico, in late January. "That's what a true partnership is all about."

Parent-company Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. has detailed plans to achieve Top 5 global tire maker status by 2030. It intends to do so by producing 150 million units a year, leading in technology that is driving EV tire development and continuing to exceed expectations across all areas of its business. South Korea-based Hankook is considered the No. 7 largest tire maker in terms of global tire sales, according to the most recent Rubber News Global Tire Report.

In the American market, Hankook's second largest behind Europe, the company recently broke ground on a $1.6 billion expansion at its Clarksville, Tenn., plant.

At the event, Williams explained the significance of the Clarksville investment, outlined the company's vision and discussed other initiatives and new products coming this year.

"We are a company built on innovation and technology and, as part of that, we've got to ensure that we form a true, lasting partnership with folks that get our product to the market," Williams said. "If we continue bringing out new and innovative high-tech products and strengthen our partnerships, we're very confident we can grow market share and thus reach ST5 ambitions."

In a moment Williams called "throwing the dead fish on the table," he acknowledged Hankook's past reputation of "being difficult to do business with." He said the team has rallied around improving relationships with partners.

"We want to be easy to do business with. We want to understand how you go to market and how we can help," he said. "The bottom line is engagement."

Hankook will be increasing training and development opportunities for partners and enhancing its customer portal, he said.

"We've got to be on the ground, we need to be in front of the customers," he said. "We will not be doing a virtual sales team, we're going to be on the ground, getting dirty."

Hankook recently broke ground on its $1.6 billion expansion at its Clarksville, Tenn., manufacturing plant. Currently, the plant produces 5 million units annually and employs 1,200. Once the expansion is completed, the facility will have a capacity of 11 million (10 million P/LT and one million truck/bus tires) and employ 2,200.

Williams said there has been a lot of excitement for the project.

"This is very important to us, because we'll be the single largest employer, outside of the government, in that part of Tennessee. And it's great when I get a chance to go out there and meet with some of the local folks how important it is for them to have Hankook in their community," Williams said.

Work on the Clarksville plant expansion began about a month ago, and Williams said the aim is to be "under roof" and begin P/LT production by year-end 2025 and TBR in 2026. By year-end 2026, the plant should be capable of full capacity, Williams said.

Last summer, Hankook launched a pair of high-performance EV tires, the iON evo and iON evo SUV, and Williams said the products are popular.

"We are the leader in the EV segment right now," Williams said. "I'm very serious about this, the name 'iON' is going to become the word everybody uses for EV tires in the future."

He said EV owners want a high-performing replacement tire with long treadwear and low rolling resistance to get the most range.

"The iON will truly allow them to get the benefits out of that vehicle that they paid for," he said.

Brand Communications Manager Brooklyn Emery said the iON will continue to be a large part of the company's marketing push this year.

"We really started with momentum," she said, noting events like Electrify Expo that highlighted the iON. This year will be about "building on that a little bit more and trying to get further down into different touch points and consumers to make sure that we really get that message out there."

Some of Hankook's marketing initiatives this year include sponsorships/supply agreements with Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Formula E, as well as advertising with Major League Baseball. The company also said it is increasing the number of events it participates in throughout the year.

Along with the iON, Hankook also highlighted the new Dynapro HPX and announced the launch of the Kinergy XP all-season.

The Dynapro HPX, which hit the market in January, is an all-season touring tire for SUVs. The tire is available in 39 sizes covering 16- to 22-inch rim diameters, with speed ratings up to V. The Dynapro HPX comes with a 70,000-mile limited treadwear warranty.

The Kinergy XP is an all-season grand touring tire designed for premium sedans, CUVs and SUVs. Kinergy XP is available in 41 popular sizes covering 16- to 20-inch rim diameters and comes with a 75,000-mile warranty.

In the North American P/LT segment, Hankook goes to market with the Ion (EV), Ventus (performance), Kinergy (efficiency), Dynapro (on- and off-road), Vantra (commercial vans) and the i*cept and i*Pike (winter) tires.

"A dealer needs a strong, well-rounded portfolio," Williams said. "We know we've got a strong portfolio they can be proud to sell."