The questions and answers behind Nexen's big expansion

Nexen, which means 'next century' in Korean, has the ability to produce 11 million tyres this year from its Changnyeong factory alone in Korea and will have the capacity to produce some 21 million tyres in 2018 when plans for further expansion are completed.

The efficiency of the plant operation here is recognised as the best in the world, thanks to the highly automated machineries that maximises quality and consistency.

With a growing market share of 20 percent since 2000, Nexen has almost 250 dealers in 130 countries, making it one of the fastest growing tyre manufacturers in the world. In fact, the 70-year old company plans to open one more factory in Czechoslovakia in 2018, strengthening its presence globally.

We get in touch with both Nexen representatives Matt Lee (ML) and Tay Beng Khong (BK) for a chat about the latest factory in Korea that's refreshingly advanced and eco-friendly.

SGCM: The factory has been around for almost three years now and I understand that the factory operates 351 days a year. What measures are taken, with all the automated machines working round the clock, to ensure that you guys do not harm the environment?

ML: Unlike other factories, our factory utilises natural light as well as solar panels to illuminate the area.

BK: To add on, the curing areas in tyre factories are usually very hot. But the one in their factory isn't at all because they recycle the heat into energy.

SGCM: So what makes Nexen tyre more credible than other tyre manufacturers in the market?

BK: With the vast automated machines that we're using in the factory, we can ensure consistent quality as compared to other tyre manufacturers who do more manual labour. Plus there are statistics to show that Nexen is the fastest growing tyre company in the world now.

ML: Plus, Nexen has 70 years of experience and history. This makes us credible and reliable. We are always looking ahead in the future, not just for end users but also for distributors and dealers alike.
SGCM: How long, on average, do you take to test a tyre?

ML: It highly depends on car manufacturers because of their required delivery time. We are the official distributor for many car brands like Kia, Hyundai, GM and Fiat. We are already in the process of being the official distributor for Porsche as well.

SGCM: I noticed there were a lot of automated forklifts manoeuvring around the factory this morning. How many of them are there and how do they work?

ML: These forklifts slow down when they approach a barrier or even people, thanks to cameras and sensors fitted on them. There are about 500 of them in the factory at the moment.

SGCM: In terms of quality control, do you guys check each and every single tyre or are they randomly selected and checked?

ML: It's definitely not random because all tyres will have to be tested via our inspection machines.

BK: Yes, in fact, every tyre will have to go through visual inspection, dynamic balancing, uniformity and X-ray inspection.

SGCM: I understand that there are two new models for 2014 - N FERA SU1 and N'blue HD Plus. What can we expect for 2015?

BK: We are currently developing run-flat tyres and we may have it by the start of 2015.