Lanxess and Hankook Tire form strategic technical partnership
ERJ staff report (TP)
Cologne, Germay / Seoul, South Korea – German specialty chemicals company Lanxess and Korean Hankook Tire signed a memorandum of understanding on 26 February to co-develop synthetic rubber technologies for high-performance tires.
Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly study the development of new high-performance synthetic rubber grades and applications that increase the performance of tires from early stages of product development.
Lanxess and Hankook Tire have maintained a “close partnership” since 2008, when Hankook Tire awarded Lanxess a long-term contract to supply solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) and neodymium performance butadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) – both core materials for high-performance tires. This newly established technical partnership is expected to further strengthen the ties between Lanxess and Hankook Tire.
Lanxess said: “The market for high-performance tires is showing a rapid rise due to increasing demand for premium tires and the introduction of tire labelling in South Korea, the EU and Japan. In December 2012, South Korea became the second market in the world after the EU to implement a mandatory tire labelling system.
“Japan introduced a voluntary label in 2010, while Brazil will follow with a labelling system in 2016. China and the United States are similarly developing implementation plans.”
This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Press release from Lanxess
This article is only available to subscribers - subscribe today
Subscribe for unlimited access. A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes:
- Every issue of European Rubber Journal (6 issues) including Special Reports & Maps.
- Unlimited access to ERJ articles online
- Daily email newsletter – the latest news direct to your inbox
- Access to the ERJ online archive