Hankook inks major smart-logistics deal at US tire plant

Seoul – Hankook Tire has awarded Hyundai Movex an '$82-million' (€76 million) contract to supply logistics automation for its tire manufacturing plant in Clarksville, Tennessee.

The contract represents “the largest single order in the company's history,” said South Korea-based Hyundai Movex's 8 Dec announcement.

The project will deliver smart logistics capabilities as part of Hankook’s ongoing €1.6-billion expansion project (ERJ report) at the US site.

The remit covers the installation of “advanced equipment and facilities that integrate and control the core logistics process from tire raw materials to manufacturing to finished products.” 

In particular, robotic systems, such as self-developed gantry robots, automated guided vehicle (AGV) and a new electrical monorail system (EMS) will be introduced at the US site.

These systems are designed to “significantly increase process and transfer efficiency,” Hyundai Movex explained in its announcement.

Operational since 2017, Hankook’s US site has capacity to produce 5.5 million passenger car tires per year, which is expected to double by the end of the expansion project in 2026.

The expansion will also establish a truck & bus tire production base at the US site: introducing capacity to manufacture 1 million tires per year.

Hyundai Elevator Logistics Division, the predecessor company to Hyundai Movex, handled the initial logistics automation for the Tennessee plant.

The Korean firm has also supplied smart logistics solutions to Linglong’s tire plant in Serbia and Sailun’s manufacturing sites in China.