Reflections from Kumho Tires

Since the CCTV 3•15 party had exposed Kumho Tire’s use of recycled rubber in place of the original rubber in the manufacturing process, resulting in serious problems in product quality, Kumho Tire has become a focus of the tire industry for a time and has also caused people to treat tires. Industry thinking.

Production company background: Kumho Tire is a product of Korea Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. South Korea's Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. has a history of manufacturing tires for 35 years. In 1996, its total sales amounted to 12 billion yuan, ranking tenth among the world's tire manufacturers.

The ins and outs of the incident: CCTV's 3•15 party exposed Kumho Tire’s serious quality problems, which caused people’s concern about Kumho Tires. In fact, starting in 2007, many Kumho Tire owners reported that they had bought them. The new car was pre-installed with Kumho tires, and it only took thousands of kilometers to see "bulging" and "cracks". On May 5, 2009, AQSIQ reported that Kumho Tire had serious bulging and side crack problems. In the face of the problems of bulging and side cracking disclosed by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Kumho had no relevant recall plan, and in addition to publishing an unqualified quality assurance statement, it has never been positively given solutions to the problems and solutions. .

At the time, Kumho said to the media that tire "bulging" did not mean that the tire itself had quality problems. The tire pressure was unstable, the road conditions were complex, and the driver's bad driving habits all contributed to the "bulging" phenomenon. They will keep track of this matter and safeguard the interests of consumers. Once they receive the complaint, they will immediately take relevant measures.

In October 2010, whether the “bulging” phenomenon of Hankook Tire in the Chinese market was related to the design or other control procedures, the relevant person in charge of Hankook stated that “mainly because of the complicated road conditions in China and the quality of the tire itself. It doesn't matter."

After being exposed by CCTV, on the evening of March 21, 2011, Li Hanxi, chairman of Kumho Tire (China), apologized to the national audience at CCTV, and issued an apology statement. He said that the company will determine in the shortest time to apply for the recall of all tire problems, but for the recall of specific time, specific steps did not mention.

The incident triggered thinking: As one of the important spare parts for automobiles, if the quality is not enough, the potential harm can be imagined. Regardless of whether the tire industry is booming today, if a company wants to do it for the long term, it must first put the customer first. We must not give up the most principled and fundamental things because of profits. Whether Kumho Tire really has any problems is not Kumho Tire’s official explanation, but who knows who? With regard to the amount of complaints about all tires, Kumho Tires leads the list. After problems arise, manufacturers should actively look for The root cause of the problem, but can not rely on experience, with luck to fool the customs clearance, set aside the interests of the majority of users, cover up the day, cover up for a long time, the problem is to be exposed after all. It is useless for the company to have strict operating standards. It must have execution power and execution power. All operating standards are a piece of paper. In an interview in January 2011, the company official stated that according to the operating standards, the ratio of tread to sidewall was 3:1, and that of inner liner was 6:1. However, during an unannounced visit to the production workshop of Kumho Tire, it was discovered that Kumho Tire Standards had been ignored, and that in order to reduce costs without blending glue in proportion, a large amount of back gel was used to reduce the performance of the entire tire. At the same time, CCTV has carried out investigations on the production workshop of Kumho Tire three times. The facts have proved that Kumho Tire clearly stipulates a set of standards, and behind it is another set of standards. Operational standards stipulate that the airtight layer is a mixture of only 6 parts of the original rubber in the original rubber. Semi-finished products are compounded by several types of rubber compounds, and their properties are very different. When they are returned to refining, different natures must be cut out. Otherwise, dangerous consequences such as tire bulging or even puncturing may occur. Kumho Tire as a tire supplier to GM, Beijing Hyundai, Shanghai Volkswagen and other car owners, such a risky tire quality, how to rest assured that the quality of these brand cars, the car manufacturers involved in the hope can be positive Problems, actively seeking solutions to problems, satisfying the majority of users and implementing them practically, rather than blindly searching for excuse for evading all sorts of excuses, can only win the benefits by facing problems only.

The Kumho incident is a test of the entire industry. In the actual production process, it is not known how many production companies do not produce according to the operating standards. This matter also reminds the relevant regulatory authorities to intensify supervision, develop relevant punitive measures, and prevent This incident that seriously jeopardizes the lives and safety of consumers has re-emerged. At the same time, it reminds car companies to strictly control the use of tires, be responsible to consumers, and be responsible for their own lives, and it is not too late.