Hankook Tire in Clarksville held a grand opening celebration Tuesday attended by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7).
The first Hankook plant to open in the U.S. and the eighth worldwide, it is expected to bring 1,800 jobs to the area.
The South Korean tire maker broke ground on the facility in 2014, investing $800 million, reports WKRN News 2. The company’s North American headquarters recently moved to downtown Nashville. Haslam has been working to attract more business from Asia.
Hankook tire executives and dealers were at the grand opening, as well as Korean Consul General Seong-jin Kim and local government officials. The event included a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The 1.5 million-square-foot facility sits on 469 acres.
“This plant is a major boon for the Clarksville area,” Blackburn said on Facebook.
Blackburn, whose 7th Congressional District includes the Clarksville area, recently announced that she is running for the U.S. Senate.
“I was honored to take part in the ceremony and thank the company’s leadership for bringing their first U.S. plant to Montgomery County,” Blackburn said.
