Hankook Tire Moving North American HQ to Tennessee

Seoul-based tiremaker Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. is relocating its American headquarters from Wayne, N.J., to Nashville, Tenn.

Hankook is still deciding where to locate in Nashville but expects to make the move in the second half of this year. The $5 million project initially will relocate the company’s 100-member New Jersey staff of sales, marketing PR, human resources, supply chain and original-equipment team members.

Hankook says it may double its staff in Nashville over the next three years. The company plans to maintain its technical center in Akron, Ohio.

The new headquarters will create synergies with a tire factory Hankook expects to open 40 miles away at the end of this year. Nashville also is home for the U.S. units of Japan’s Bridgestone, Italy’s Marangoni Tyre and China’s Triangle Tire.