South Korean Hands Corporation opens new plant in Tangier

South Korean equipment manufacturer Hands Corporation opened Tuesday its new plant in Tangier, specializing in the production of aluminium wheels, with an investment of 4.3 billion Dirhams.

Located in Tangier Automotive City over a surface area of 23 ha, the new unit will generate 1,600 jobs and produce 8 million units per year.

The inauguration ceremony took place in the presence of Minister of Industry, Trade, Green and Digital Economy, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, South Korea's ambassador to Morocco, Seong-deok Yun, and President of Hands Corporation, Rhee Sukchoo.

Speaking on this occasion, Elalamy said this project, whose convention was signed at a ceremony chaired by King Mohammed VI in December 2017, represents a major investment by a leading Korean group in the car industry. Hands Corporation is among the top 5 of the world's largest manufacturers of aluminium wheels, which will allow Morocco to move to the 3rd place in the world in this area, he said.

This plant is not only the eighth for the group and the first outside of South Korea and China, but also the most advanced one in terms of technology used, he noted, adding that car industry in Morocco will further develop in the future through this major project.

For his part, Rhee Sukchoo said the group has decided to expand its activities worldwide by investing in Tangier, thus benefiting from the strategic location of Morocco which facilitates access to the European Union and other countries.

The Tangier plant has been equipped with the best existing technologies in the field to ensure the initial production of 4 million aluminium wheels per year, he said, adding that the plant will become the group's largest production site when its capacity will reach 8 million units annually.