The Saudi trader was the late Mohammed Abdul Hafiz Bin-Shihon and the partnership he formed an alliance with was the Hankook Tire Company.

Today that custom is carried on by the Bin-Shihon offspring Marwan Bin Shihon, the group’s vice president for Saudi Arabia, who recently toured Hankook facilities in Korea, China and Indonesia with several other executives.

Today, Hankook Tire is the seventh largest and one of the fastest growing tire manufacturers in the world. It produces innovative, superior quality, and high performance radial tires for passenger cars, 4x4, SUVs, light trucks, campers, trucks, buses and for automobile motor sports.

It invests around five percent of revenue in research and development and develops cutting-edge technologies through its five global R&D centers meeting regional customer demands and enhancing customer satisfaction. Selling in 185 countries around the world, the company has more than 14,000 employees.

Around 70 percent of revenue comes from growing overseas sales.

The Bin-Shihon Group has come a long way from that first meeting.

Today, Bin-Shihon is the recognized number one tire distributor in the Kingdom with more than 20 percent of the market share.

It is also the number one Hankook tire distributor worldwide.

To preserve this distinguished position, it has a system of more than 10,000 dealers across the country and a setup that includes a fleet of 200 trucks, and 15 principal warehouses and six central maintenance centers.

Speaking to journalists invited by Hankook with the full support of the Bin-Shihon group, Bin Shihon said: “We will witness several and different initiatives in the near future as our partnership with Hankook grows stronger every year.”

Additionally, the partnership has resulted in technological advancements by creating specially designed tires that adapt to the Kingdom’s climate and road-conditions.

This was made possible through the company’s commitment to investing five percent of its annual revenues into research and development that account for the production of cutting-edge technologies that meet regional customer demands and enhances customer satisfaction.

“We are determined to transfer as much technical know-how, discipline and management skills from South Korea to help create even a bigger operation in Saudi which ultimately creates more local jobs and a more prosperous future for all,” said Bin Shihon.

The global CEO for Hankook Tire, Seung Hwa Suh, emphasized the warm and productive relationship between his company and Bin-Shihon.

Stating that while Hankook today occupies first position in South Korea and seventh worldwide, the company is targeting the pole position in tire distributorship worldwide by 2020.

As for the Saudi market, Hankook Tire has worked with their partner over the years to identify the quality of tires, taking into consideration the heat, road conditions and motorist driving patterns and have introduced the Ventus ME01.

Sang W. Lee, general manager of Hankook’s Saudi office, said the new tire — developed through extensive climatic and environmental research — is available in the market.

He said all Hankook tires sold in the Kingdom were of Korean origin.

“After working for more than 40 years with our partners in success, the Bin-Shihon Group, we have learned that both Koreans and Saudis have a lot in common, such as respect for family values, adapting modernity without letting go of tradition and of course, a passion for cars and driving!” he added.

The company recently announced that it will sponsor Saeed Al-Mouri, one of the Kingdom’s main racers and hailed as a hero by the country’s predominantly young population, thus creating the first ever “Hankook Saudi Racing Team.”

Management