KIOTI Tractor Division has announced the promotion of Chang Gue (C.G.) Kim to executive vice president of Daedong Industrial Company Ltd., the parent company of KIOTI Tractor. Kim will remain president of Daedong-USA Inc. and KIOTI Tractor, headquartered in Wendell, N.C.

In his new position, Kim will be responsible for leading Daedong’s worldwide management teams in their core areas of systems integration, planning, product development, production, quality, sales, marketing and service and parts. Building on his success in growing the KIOTI brand in North America, Kim has a global value-chain perspective and will strengthen Daedong Industrial’s position as a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of compact tractors and engines.

Kim has been president of Daedong-USA and KIOTI Tractor since 1997. His initial goal was to introduce the South Korean premier agricultural machinery manufacturer to the North American farm, hobby farm, landscaping and related markets. Under Kim’s leadership, KIOTI has established a solid dealer network and has grown their product line to include 30 new tractor and utility vehicle models, helping the company realize very rapid and steady year-to-year growth.

Kim is a graduate of Ohio State Univ. with a B.S. in business administration, and earned an MBA in Global Business and Marketing from George Washington Univ. He was recently nominated by Ernst & Young for the Entrepreneur of the Year award.

According to the company, Kim’s promotion to this global position will be the forerunner of even more exciting new things to come to this already fast-growing North American organization. Numerous new products and programs are being planned. As the company continues to grow its market share, dealer network and product offerings, KIOTI will be in a strong position to realize the same market leader position they hold in South Korea.

Two highly successful and popular programs initiated in North America by Kim are KIOTI’s 4-Year Full Fleet Warranty and Five Paw Dealer Excellence Program. Both of these programs were designed to help dealers sell tractors by providing them with tools to promote both the product and their dealership.

Daedong was formed in 1947, just after World War II ended and before the Korean War officially began. In 1949, they designed and built their first diesel engine, the main component in all of their tractors and utility vehicles and one of the main reasons for the long-term success of the company. Under ISO9001, ISO14000 and EPA certifications, the company builds thousands of diesel engines and tractors and utility vehicles annually with hundreds of thousands of products in the field that are supported successfully every day of the year.