Frankfurt Show a “Major Success”, States Kumho

According to Kumho, its prominent position in a ‘major hall’ at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show demonstrates the seriousness with which the Korean tyre maker takes its increasing role in the European motor industry.

The stand’s exhibits comprised a broad selection of the company’s products, from preview examples of the UHP Ecsta LE Sport KU39 and eco-friendly Ecowing KH19, both scheduled for a 2010 release, to the Road Venture KL71 (extreme mud terrain) and S700 (Formula 3) competition tyres. A key attraction was the Farbio GTS350 sports car, which made its first public showing at the German show courtesy of Kumho. Kumho’s new laser etching process, which the manufacturer is confident will revolutionise the way the company designs its tread patterns, proved to be another drawcard.

“Mass production tread patterns can be a compromise – part functional and part aesthetic. In the future, Kumho plans to design its treads in two stages,” said Roger Jenkins, managing director of Kumho’s Birmingham-based European Technical Centre. “The functional requirement, free of compromise, will be moulded in the normal way. Any additional attributes or design features will then be etched onto the surface as required.

 “The new laser technology will allow us far more freedom at the design stage and the ability to experiment with any number of patterns and surface finishes,” Jenkins continued. “In the future, the process could also provide production tyres with a variety of short-term gains – such as special surfaces for use in motorsport or driving on low friction surfaces.”

Kumho has called the Frankfurt Motor Show was a “major success,” and reports its products enjoyed a very successful debut while the stand received an excellent throughput of trade and consumer visitors throughout the exhibition and a high number of serious enquiries were processed.