Feb 24, 2016 | By Tess
South Korean tire mold manufacturing company Saehwa IMC Co. has recently announced it’s acquisition of a 3D printing company as it plans to begin integrating the technology into its tire mold manufacturing process to more quickly and efficiently deal with client orders.
Just this past Monday, Saehwa IMC Co. bought 60 per cent of Cube Tech Co.’s shares effectively turning the 3D printing company into one of its subsidiaries. Cube Tech, which owns three core patents for additive manufacturing technology, will now allow the company to use 3D modeling and printing to manufacture parts and tire molds to accommodate changing market trends which are heading towards increasingly environmentally friendly and high-performing tires.
“With 3D printing technology, we will be able to manufacture various types of tire molds in a more accurate manner and small volume, the recent trend in the tire industry,” said Kang Jung-hwan, head of strategic planning at Saehwa IMC. “We expect to be able to produce our first (tire mold) product using a 3D printer sometime in April.”
The recent acquisition and move towards 3D printing has industry experts buzzing about the company’s potential for growth, which the market seemed to prove after the deal was made. On Monday, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) indicated Saehwa IMC jumped 5.4 percent to 8,200 South Korean Won, and on Tuesday jumped 4.9 percent to 8,600 Won. By Wednesday, the company had gone down an incremental 0.1 percent, leaving the company’s shares relatively stable at 8,590 Won.
The company is also expected to make significant gains from the strengthening U.S. dollar and Japanese yen against the South Korean Won as the company makes up to 80 percent of its total sales from overseas markets including the United States and Japan. In just the past three months, for instance, the U.S. dollar has risen 6.4 percent against the won and the yen has risen 16 percent.
The South Korean tire mold company was founded in 1981 and has since grown into South Korea’s largest tire mold manufacturer, and one of three leading tire mold companies internationally. Among their notable clients are Pirelli & S.p.A., Yokohama Tire Corporation, Nokian Tyres Company and Sumitomo Tire. As the company continues to be profitable, and as they envision increased profits from the integration of 3D printing technology into their manufacturing, they also plan to establish additional subsidiaries overseas, currently they have 14 overseas facilities. This year, the company will introduce a joint tire molding company with a local manufacturer in Turkey, as well as one in Mexico.
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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There are a lot of used tires in African countries like Botswana. If the idea could be recycling them by changing their state to liquid and model them again with mould concept, that could save a lot of energy.
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