Approximately 600 researchers from Korea and abroad will use "industry-leading supercomputers, cutting-edge physical testing equipment, chemical and instrumental analysis equipment, performance research equipment and more" at the new Kumho R&D center in metropolitan Seoul.
Kumho Tire Co. Ltd. opened its new research and development center in the metropolitan Seoul area on Sept. 3, 2013. It took five years to build the facility.
The R&D center, which includes a research building and testing facility, was built in the Giheung-gu District in the city of Yongin, South Korea. It, covers a land area of nearly 375,370 square feet; the total floor area covers 245,664.7 square feet.
The facility will serve as the central control tower of a global R&D network, which also includes the following:
* Kumho Tire American Technical Center in Akron, Ohio, United States;
* Kumho Tire Europe Technical Centre in Frankfurt, Germany;
* Kumho Tire China Technical Centre in Tianjin, China; and
* Kumho Tire Performance Center in Gwangju, Korea.
The newly completed R&D center will serve as the main R&D center in charge of all basic research and product development. The existing Gwangju R&D Center has been transformed into a performance center for evaluation and quality monitoring of finished products.
Kumho Tire's strategy to bolster its R&D network is the brainchild of Chairman Park Sam-Koo of the Kumho Asiana Group. Taking advantage of the location near the Seoul metropolitan area, the move, promoting new product development and research into core technologies, will help the company equip itself with the competitive power a global corporation needs in overseas markets, says Kumho.
The Yongin city area where the R&D Center is located is a true automotive industry. It also is home to the technology research institutes of Hyundai Motor Co., Renault Samsung Motors (Renault Group) and Hyundai Mobis, among others, and hosts the Everland Speedway and a racing circuit.
"The most sure way of becoming a global tire company is to secure world-class technical prowess," says Kumho CEO Kim Chang-Kyu. With the completion of the new R&D center, he promises the company will "continue to strive to improve its competitive power with expansion of overseas factories and increasing OE supplies to overseas automobile makers."
