Two years ago, Nexen Tire Corp. broke ground on its Changnyeong, South Korea, factory. Less than two years later, the plant is up and running.
The plant, Nexen’s second in Korea and third overall, will produce three million consumer tires in 2012. Next year, the company will double that.
The eco-friendly plant takes up 20,330 square meters of space, only 4% of the total space available. By 2018, plant expansions will bring its annual capacity up to some 21 million tires at a total cost of $1.2 billion.
It’s all part of an “ambitious” plan to increase its global production to some 60 million tires, according to Joo Ho Song, senior managing director of global marketing. That also includes:
* increasing annual tire production at its Yangsan, Korea, and Qingdao, China, plants (to 20 million each);
* adding “premium” vehicles to its global original equipment fitments.
Nexen hopes to be one of the top 10 tire manufacturers in the world by 2018, adds Song.
The automated plant is run 24/7, 351 days a year in three shifts; only 150 workers are needed per shift. – Bob Ulrich
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"New Nexen plant prepares for production.
