Kolon Industries Headquarters Building (Photo Courtesy of Kolon Industries)

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Kolon Industries announced on the 14th that it will invest 30 billion KRW ($22.5 million) to expand tire cord facilities at its Vietnam plant. The company plans to add heat-treatment equipment at the facility, increasing its production capacity from 36,000 tons to 57,000 tons annually.

Tire cords are reinforcement materials made of fiber that are embedded inside tires to enhance durability, performance, and stability. They rank as the third-largest material cost in tire manufacturing (24%), following natural rubber (27%) and synthetic rubber (26%). PET tire cords are primarily used in passenger cars and SUVs.

Tire cord production involves three stages: spinning to create strong fibers, twisting and weaving to enhance strength and form fabric, and heat treatment to ensure adhesion to rubber and dimensional stability. The expanded heat-treatment facilities, a critical process for both production volume and product quality, will play a pivotal role.

Kolon Industries will utilize idle equipment from its Nanjing tire cord plant in China for the expansion. The Nanjing facility ceased operations after the local government requested the plant’s closure in 2023 due to regional land development policies. Typically, investing in a new tire cord production line costs approximately 200 billion KRW ($150 million), but by repurposing existing equipment, Kolon Industries is reducing this cost to just one-seventh of that amount.

 

 

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