Kolon Ind expands tire cord fabric plant in Vietnam

Kolon Industries Inc. has expanded the capacity of its polyester tire cord fabric plant in Vietnam, the South Korean company said on Wednesday.

The facility expansion boosted its production capacity in Vietnam by 14% to 19,200 tons of tire cord fabrics compared with 2018, when it built a 16,800-ton factory in the Southeast Asian country. Its Vietnam-based facilities are now in full operation.

Tire cords reinforce materials for tires, keeping them in shape and enhancing their durability.

Since entering the tire cord fabric market in 1973, Kolon has been supplying the fabrics to global tire makers such as Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone.

Both at home and abroad, Kolon is now able to produce 103,200 tons of tire cord fabric per year, or 15% of the global tire cord market by output.

Electric vehicles are leading the demand for tire cords. According to EV-Volumes, a data analysis company, worldwide EV sales soared 108% to 6.5 million units in 2021 from the previous year.

This year, its global sales are estimated to surpass 10 million units.

Tires for EVs use 10-20% more tire cords than those for gasoline cars to support the battery cell, which weighs as much as about 400 kilograms.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.