SEOUL, South Korea—Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. renamed itself "Hankook Tire & Technology" to reflect its technological innovations and strengthen its future new business development strategy.
Hankook also renamed Hankook Tire Worldwide "Hankook Technology Group," and is changing the names of several holding companies and major affiliates, according to a May 8 press release.
With these name changes, Hankook said it is establishing a unified brand system, and these changes should represent a turning point in enhancing future competitiveness.
"The name change of Hankook Tire Group is an attempt to cope with the era of the fourth Industrial Revolution, which increases the uncertainty of the future industrial ecosystem, to strengthen the business competitiveness of individual affiliates, and to lay the groundwork for continuously promoting destructive innovation that will challenge new business development," it said.
A Hankook spokesman said the name of the company’s U.S. subsidiary will remain Hankook Tire America.
“At the local level, our dealers and distributors will receive the same outstanding service they’ve come to expect from Hankook Tire,” he said. “Dealers and distributors will notice their new Hankook promotional materials feature the updated, sleeker logo and font.”
Hankook will establish a digitally based innovation model that integrates various information and communication technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data in all fields, including production, distribution, sales and service, the company said.
The company also is introducing a corporate culture it's calling a Proactive Culture, wherein members voluntarily become the subject of innovation.
Proactive Culture "will establish a culture of innovative and creative communication and collaboration throughout the group," the company said."To this end," Hankook added, "the company will continue to strengthen its corporate culture to remove uniform organizational culture, to create a passionate working environment and horizontal communication."
