Louisiana governor visits Kumho Tire HQ to enhance cooperation

Kumho Tire CEO Jung Il-taik, right, shakes hands with U.S. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards during his visit to Kumho Tire headquarters to enhance cooperation, Friday. Courtesy of Kumho Tire

By Kim Hyun-bin

The governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana visited the headquarters of Kumho Tire to enhance cooperation, according to the company, Friday.

A trade delegation to Asia led by Governor John Bel Edwards paid a visit to the company headquarters in Seoul and met with senior management. Kumho Tire CEO Jung Il-taik, Head of Sales Division Lim Seung-bin and Head of Supply Chain Management 2 Lee Eun-sun attended the meeting where they welcomed the Louisiana delegation, which also included Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson, and staff members of Louisiana Economic Development.

The visit was arranged to thank Kumho's decision announced in January to invest in the southern U.S. state, and ask for greater partnership going forward.

Kumho Tire plans to open a distribution center in New Orleans, Louisiana, to facilitate its entry into the U.S. market.

Before the opening of the distribution center, Kumho will set up a logistics hub in Dallas, Texas, to build facilities and other infrastructure that are needed for the operation of the center and to accelerate its business with key partners located nearby.

Kumho expects that the new warehouse distribution center will help it respond to changes in the global logistics environment, expand its sales network and strengthen its distribution competitiveness in the U.S. South and Midwest.

“We will leverage our strategic location in the U.S. and the distribution center to expand our service coverage and boost our brand value in the global market,” Kumho Tire CEO Jung Il-taik said. “Continued expansion in the world's largest tire market will allow us to achieve sustainable growth and development down the road.”