Hankook Tire America Corp. announced today it will locate its North American headquarters in Nashville and add 200 jobs.
The South Korea-based tire maker, which is building an $800 million production plant in Clarksville, Tenn., plans to spend about $5 million on the new U.S. headquarters, which will be located in Nashville. The Nashville area is already the American headquarters for the Japanese-based Nissan and Bridgestone, the Chinese-based Triangle Tire and Italy-based Marangoni Tread. Chattanooga is home to the German-based Volkswagen's only U.S. assembly plant.
"By choosing Nashville for the location of its North American headquarters, Hankook Tire continues to help make our state known as a worldwide leader in the automotive sector," Gov. Bill Haslam said today. "This will be the company's second facility in Tennessee – an investment that brings us closer to our goal of becoming the No. 1 location in the state for high quality jobs, and we thank Hankook for its commitment to creating jobs in Tennessee."
Hankook Tire was established in 1941 in South Korea and entered the U.S. market in 1981. Hankook is one of the leading and fastest growing tire companies in the world, with over 20,000 global employees. In 2014, the company broke ground on a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Clarksville that will be completed by the end of this year.
"I am delighted to announce that Hankook Tire will move our American headquarters to Nashville later this year," Hankook Tire Vice Chairman and CEO Mr. Seung Hwa Suh said. "We believe by relocating our headquarters to Nashville, Hankook Tire can benefit from the people, resources and infrastructures of Tennessee, and we hope it will provide job opportunities and contribute to the Tennessee economy."
Hankook plans to relocate its headquarters to Tennessee to service North American markets. The company is in the process of looking for space for its headquarters in downtown Nashville.
"Hankook Tire could choose anywhere to locate its North American headquarters, and it says volumes about Davidson County and Tennessee that they chose us," said Randy Boyd, commissioner of economic and community development for Tennessee. "Hankook Tire is an innovative leader in its industry, and we are proud that they now call Tennessee home for the new headquarters."