Hankook Tire

Hankook Tire & Technology Group (/ Hæŋkʊk /; [Haːnɡuk] 한국, 韓國 "Korea (south)", or commonly referred to as Hankook and written as Наnкоок) is a South Korean tire manufacturer. Headquartered in Seoul, Hankook Tire & Technology Group is the seventh biggest tire manufacturer in the world.

The company was founded by Grandpa Jae Hun Chung in 1941 with the name Chosun Tire Company and then renamed Hankook Tire Manufacturing in 1968. The word "Hankook" means "Korea".

The company now supplies its tires as OEM to a number of automotive manufacturers. In addition to producing around 102 million tires per year, the company also sells batteries, alloy wheels, and brake lining.

In 2011, Hankook Tire Co. Announced that they would invest $ 1.1 billion to build a factory in West Java, as part of its plan to become the fifth largest tire manufacturer in the world. [2] On June 9, 2011, the first stone laying procession was finally held on an area of 60 hectares in West Java. The factory is planned to be the Hankook regional production center, because the production results will be exported to countries in Asia, North America and the Middle East

IN PROCESS SURVEY

GITI TIRES

Giti Tire is a Singapore-Based, Global Tire Company, offering a complete range of quality tires and services. The company provides tires to more than 130 countries and is ranked among the world's largest tire companies

Still join to goodyear

Sumitomo Rubber Industries

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (住友ゴム工業株式会社, Sumitomo Gomu Kōgyo Kabushiki-gaisha) is a global tire and rubber company based in Japan. It is part of the Sumitomo Group. The company makes a wide range of rubber based products, including automobile tires, golf balls and tennis balls. Sumitomo brands include Dunlop Tyres (in certain regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America), Falken Tire and Ohtsu Tire

The company traces its origins to 1909, when the Sumitomo Group made an investment in Dunlop Japan, the newly formed Japanese subsidiary of the British company Dunlop Rubber. Over the years Sumitomo and Dunlop developed a close business relationship, and in 1963 the Sumitomo Group acquired control of Dunlop Japan and renamed it Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.

In 1985, when Dunlop Rubber was taken over by BTR plc, the company acquired the automobile tire assets of Dunlop, including the right to use the Dunlop brand on automobile tires. The acquisition did not include the US and Australian businesses, which were separately owned, but in 1986 Sumitomo also acquired the Dunlop Tire Corporation of the US from its management.^[6]

In 1997, Sumitomo formed a joint venture with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, by which Goodyear and Sumitomo agreed to manufacture tires for each other's markets, including Dunlop branded tires. As part of the agreement, Goodyear acquired 75% interests in Dunlop Tyres, the UK company which Sumitomo had formed, and in Dunlop Tire Corporation. Goodyear and Sumitomo also made investments in each other.^[7]

On 14 February 2014, Goodyear announced its intention to dissolve its partnership with Sumitomo due to alleged "anticompetitive conduct". On June 4, 2015, Goodyear announced the end of its joint venture with SRI, effective end of year 2015. The brand Dunlop will be shared between the 2 companies:^[8]

in North America, Goodyear will control the Dunlop brand for replacement tires and for new cars made by non-Japanese auto makers. Sumitomo Rubber will hold rights to the Dunlop brand for new cars made by Japanese auto makers, as well as for motorcycles
in most parts of Europe, Goodyear will control the Dunlop brand
in Japan, Sumitomo Rubber will retain rights to the Dunlop brand

In December 2013 Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired Apollo Tyres South Africa (Pty) Ltd from Apollo Tyres, which owned the Dunlop tyre brand in South Africa, as part of its strategic global development plans. It subsequently renamed the company Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

Sumitomo Rubber South Africa manufactures the Dunlop, Sumitomo and Falken passenger car tyre brands in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal.

The Ladysmith plant began to produce Dunlop truck and bus radial tyres in July 2018, following the second of two large investments by Sumitomo Rubber Industries to upgrade and modernise the plant.

Dunlop truck and bus radial tyres produced in Ladysmith will be sold in the South African market and will also be exported to several African states from 2019.

Bridgestone

Bridgestone America dates back to the two separate companies that merged to form Bridgestone Tire company. The first one is Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, that was founded in August 1900 by Harvey Firestone and was headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The second one is the Bridgestone Tire Company, Ltd., founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi in Japan.^[8] The first Bridgestone tire was produced on 9 April 1930, by the Japanese "Tabi" Socks Tire Division (actually made jika-tabi). One year later on 1 March 1931, the founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, made the "Tabi" Socks Tire Division independent and established the Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd.^[8] in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. "Bridgestone" was named after the name of the founder, Shojiro Ishibashi (Ishi = Stone, Bashi = Bridge).

Foregoing dependence on European and North American technology, the Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd. set its eyes on manufacturing tires based largely on Japanese technology. The fledgling company experienced many difficulties in the areas of technology, production, and sales in the early days. Eventually, improvements were achieved in quality and manufacturing processes which led to the business rapidly expanding in domestic and overseas markets.

Challenges during and after World War

Wartime regulations were in effect throughout Japan during World War II, and tires also came under the jurisdiction of these regulations. This resulted in nearly all of the company's output being used to satisfy military demand. 1945 saw the end of armed conflict, but the company was devastated by the war. The Tokyo headquarters was destroyed during an aerial bombing raid, and all overseas assets were lost. The plants in Kurume and Yokohama escaped unscathed, and production was able to resume immediately after the war ended. Brushing aside the problems caused by a labour union strike that lasted for forty-six days, the foundations of the company were further reinforced after this.

After the war the company started making bicycles, with the Bridgestone Cycle Company being formed in 1949.^[10] From 1952 the first complete powered bicycles were produced, with a 26cc engine. In 1958 the first 50cc Bridgestone motorcycles were manufactured, but the company's main income was from supplying tires to its rival motorcycle makers such as Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha and it was later decided to cease motorcycle manufacturing