Laser Etched Tyre Wins Award for Kumho

The laser etching process that Kumho showed off at last September’s Frankfurt Motor Show has landed the South Korean manufacturer an iF Product Design Award. The accolade from Germany’s International Forum Design, first introduced in 1954, is awarded upon the merits of a product’s design, technology, degree of innovation and brand value potential. A total of 2,486 entries from 1,081 companies in 39 countries were submitted for the latest round of awards. The awards are divided into 16 categories, and Kumho’s victory in the 2010 awards took place in the ‘Advanced Studies’ category.

Kumho says the laser etched tyre displayed at the Frankfurt show embodies technology that is “set to transform” the way its tread patterns are designed. This tyre, together with what the tyre maker calls a “typical application of Kumho’s products of the future”, formed the basis of Kumho’s winning award entry.
 
 “Consumers take into account the design of a tyre as well as its performance when making a purchase,” commented Roger Jenkins, managing director of Kumho’s Birmingham-based European Technical Centre. “Kumho was one of the first companies to recognise this and continually invests in the development of both aspects. It is therefore all the more rewarding to have our work recognised with such a prestigious award.”

Along with other winning submissions, Kumho’s laser etched tyre will be displayed for half a year at the exhibition centre in Hanover, Germany, where iF is headquartered. According to Kumho, more than a quarter of a million people will visit the centre in the six months from March 2, when the products go on display. An online exhibition will also be held at the organisation’s ifdesign.de website.