Thursday, June 12th, 2014
"With the building of the new research center, we seek to become a first mover instead of remaining as a fast follower."
Cho Hyun-beom, Hankook Tire president in charge of marketing and operations, said this on June 10 in a groundbreaking ceremony for the "Techno Dome," a new central R&D center, held at the Daedeok Science Park in Daejeon.
Mr. Cho is the second son of the company's chairman Cho Yang-rae. His elder brother Cho Hyun-shik is the head of Hankook Tire Worldwide, a holding company spun off in 2012 from the parent company. At the ceremony, vice chairman Seo Seung-hwa and the elder brother were in attendance.
The younger cho said, "In order for Hankook Tire to transform itself from the world's No. 5 fast follower into a first mover, we desperately need capabilities in basic technology. At the Techno Dome to be completed in 2016, we will focus on developing high-performance tires."
"The Techno Dome will play an important role together with the Test Engineering Center to be established in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province. Following the Daejeon technical research center and four tire technology centers in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan, the new center will be sixth for the company," he added.
He hinted that his company would participate in the Formula One car racing event as a tire supplier. To a question whether Hankook Tire is willing to be part of the event, he said, "We haven't decided yet. In terms of technical competency and marketing budget, we are more than ready to be part of it. But we have to review the exact marketing effect and calculate the pros and cons of participating in the event. It's not that we can do it whenever we want to do it. Still it's not clear whether we will take part in."