Hankook opens Workshop at Nürburgring

The Hankook Europe Technical Centre (ETC) has a new branchoffice, which in future will offer employees optimal conditions, especiallywhen it comes to real-world testing of high-end tyres during development. Onthe nearby Nürburgring race track, particularly the legendary Nordschleife, thecompany tests not only racing tyres but also original equipment tyres forrenowned car manufacturers from the high-end performance market.

Neu-Isenburg,Germany, 7th December 2021– In the presence of Hankook management, the NürburgringWorkshop was officially opened today in Meuspath in the district of Ahrweilerin the southwest of Germany, although it had already begun operatingunofficially a few months previously. The decision to invest in a dedicatedfield office in the immediate vicinity of what is probably the world’s mostdemanding race track, located in the Eifel region, also took into account themassive growth in the volume of Hankook’s premium original equipment used onhigh-performance vehicles.

Fora long time now, and as an original equipment partner of renowned carmanufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen, as wellas their performance subsidiaries, Hankook has been carrying out extensivetests on the legendary Nordschleife, where it tests its UUHP tyres(Ultra-Ultra-High-Performance), specially developed for use as originalequipment. Especially in the sports car segment, the "Green Hell", as it isknown, offers ideal conditions for extensive test drives to ensure the tyresmeet the respective demanding requirements of vehicle manufacturers and theircustomers. These final product tests are also an integral part of the processand are a clearly defined as a decisive acceptance criterion for many high-endvehicles.

Opening ourworkshop in the immediate vicinity of the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife enables usto carry out performance and load tests much more efficiently, which areincreasingly important in the field of high-performance road vehicles. This enables us to ensure that we offer our customersthe best possible products with the highest level of performance," says AndreasPürschel, head of the European Hankook test team at the Research andDevelopment Centre in Hanover.

TheETC, which opened in Hanover in 1997, has allowed the tyre maker tosignificantly expand its research projects in Europe. In addition to developingcustomised tyres for original equipment used on vehicles in Europe, testing ofthe products under the most stringent conditions is also an integral part ofthe ETC’s work. Back in 2017, the company opened its own winter tyre test site"Technotrac" in Ivalo, Finland. With the newly inaugurated Nürburgring workshopand the high-end and state-of-the-art production and indoor testing facilitiesat the EU manufacturing site in Hungary, Hankook can proudly claim to stand forintegrated tyre development and production in Europe.

AboutHankook Tire

Hankook Tire manufactures globally innovative, awardwinning radial tyres of proven superior quality for passenger cars, lighttrucks, SUVs, RVs, trucks, and buses as well as motorsports (circuitracing/rallies)

Aspiring to bring consumers the utmost excellence inproduct quality, technological excellence and driving satisfaction, HankookTire continuously invests in research and development maintaining five R&Dcentres and eight production facilities around the world. Bespoke tyresolutions for the European markets as well as European Original Equipmentaccording to the requirements of leading premium car manufacturers, aredeveloped in the company’s regional Technical Centre in Hanover/Germany.Production for the European region is taking place in the state-of-the-artmanufacturing site in Rácalmás/Hungary which was inaugurated in June 2007 andis continuously being expanded. Currently around 3,000 employees produce up to19 million tyres a year for passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks.

Hankook Tire’s European headquarters are located inNeu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The manufacturer operatesfurther branches in Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, theNetherlands, Austria, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK andUkraine. Hankook products are sold directly through regional distributors inother local markets. Hankook Tire employs approximately 20,000 people worldwideand are selling their products in over 180 countries. Internationally leadingcar manufacturers rely on tyres made by Hankook for their original equipment.Approximately 34 percent of the company’s global sales are generated within theEuropean and CIS-Region. Hankook Tire has been represented in the renowned DowJones Sustainability Index World (DJSI World) since 2016.

For more information please visit www.hankooktire-mediacenter.com or www.hankooktire.com