S Korea's Hankook Tire Commences Operations In Indonesia

Jakarta, Sept 17 (Antara) - South Korea`s Hankook Tire officially started operating its factory in Cikarang, West Java Province, here on Tuesday with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and former South Korean President Lee Myung Bak attending the inaugural ceremony of the factory. "The inauguration of our factory in Cikarang reflects our commitment towards moving forward together with Indonesia. The factory in Indonesia will support us in providing services to our customers around the world," Seung Hwa Suh, CEO of Hankook Tire, said here on Tuesday. Spread across 60 hectares of land, the Cikarang factory is Hankook`s seventh global production base. Currently the factory is undergoing the first phase of development with final construction expected to be finished by 2018. Most of the tires produced at the factory are for passenger vehicles and light trucks. The South Korean tire company plans to invest US$1.1 billion in the factory. During its initial year of production, the factory is expected to produce six million tires per year, with 70 percent of the production being exported to ASEAN countries, North America and the Middle East. The Hankok Tire factory in Cikarang currently employs 1,400 workers. Once the final phase of development is finished, the employee count will increase to 4,800 people.