'Grand slam' of design awards for Nexen Tire

ERJ staff report (TP)

Seoul – Nexen Tire said it became the first tire maker in the world to achieve a “grand slam” of design awards, after being selected as a finalist at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) held in the US.

The South Korean company has won the world's “top three” design awards – IDEA (US), International Forum Design (IF Design Award, Germany), and Red Dot Design Award (Germany); plus, it was also a winner at G-Mark (Japan).

First selected as a finalist at the German IF Design Awards in 2011, Nexen Tire picked up awards at the German Red Dot Design Awards in 2012 and the Japanese G-Mark Design Awards in 2013. This year, the tire maker won the German IF Design Award once again and became a finalist at the US IDEA.

To win at IDEA, entries have to show “outstanding originality, artistry, sustainability, business value and problem-solving ability”.

This year saw over 2,000 products go head-to-toe with each other through a strict review in 16 categories.

Lee Hyun-bong, Nexen Tire's CEO, said: “The Green Hive concept tire, a finalist in the transportation category, focuses on usability, economy and sustainability. [It] was highly appraised for its creativity and innovation.

"Achieving the grand slam of the most prestigious global design awards with this year's IDEA is proof of our design capability and extraordinary global competitiveness.”