NEXEN TIRE is expanding its presence around the world, including Europe, Americas and Asia!

Last October, NEXEN TIRE held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Zatec plant in the Czech Republic, which indicates the beginning of the company's full-scale entry into the European market.

To reinforce its business in the European tire market, one of the largest of its kind in the world, NEXEN TIRE allocated an investment of over one trillion Korean Won in the plant to be constructed on a site of approximately 650,000㎡ in Zatec, Czech, announcing that the plant, which would commence operations in 2018, would produce more than 12 million tires per year through gradual expansion in consideration of market demand. This project was planned to expand sales in accordance with growing tire demands in Europe and reliably supply and expand OE tires for global automakers in Europe.

The Czech Republic offers good accessibility to Europe's major markets, such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, and can act as a bridge to the Eastern European market, which is emerging as a blue ocean in Europe. In particular, Zatec, where the new plant will be constructed, is a region where it is easy to procure manpower with favorable background conditions, and is also ideal for OE tire supply as there are about 30 automakers within its radius of 400 km. In addition, the Czech government's active efforts and support to attract investments to revitalize its national economy after the European financial crisis has also played an important role.

"This Czech plant is our second overseas plant following the Qingdao plant and will add crucial momentum for us to make another bold leap forward," said NEXEN TIRE's chairman Byeong-joong Kang in his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony. "Based on this, we will accelerate our expansion in the European market to become a leading global tire supplier throughout the world."

In this year, NEXEN TIRE has expanded its OE supply to models of European automakers, including 500X, FCA Fiat's first crossover model, and Ducato, Fiat's popular commercial van, as well as Twingo of Renault, and has also conducted aggressive marketing activities to penetrate into the European market, including signing a sponsorship agreement with Manchester City FC, one of the best soccer clubs in the English Premier League (EPL) and participating in the Frankfurt Motor Show. With this new plant project in the Czech Republic, NEXEN TIRE is expected to make a more prominent move in the market.