Hankook expands European Technical Centre

Hankook is expanding its Europe Technical Centre (ETC) and will officially inaugurate its new facilities in Hannover this Friday. Hankook’s European R&D focuses on the development of tyres for the European markets as well as original equipment. According to the company, the expansion reflects the growing importance of Hankook’s OE supplies in Europe.

Founded in 1997, the Hankook ETC has seen steady growth in the past 15 years, expanding manpower and development capacity from an original staff of five to 45 engineers and tyre specialists now. “The new location and additional capacities of our Europe Technical Centre are in line with the continuous growth Hankook sees in Europe,” explains Stefan Fischer, Head of ETC at Hankook Tire. “The steadily increasing numbers of development projects for the European original equipment and replacement market ask for a corresponding expansion of development capacities. The decision for our new facilities in Hannover is a decisive step in our long-term expansion strategy as the grounds in Hannover have been tailored to the needs of our R&D specialists and offer additional office capacities of up to 70 per cent. This of course offers new possibilities and clearly signals a long-term investment.”

The focal point of Hankook’s Hannover-based Europe Technical Centre is the development of original equipment tyres for passenger cars, SUVs and Light Trucks. Premium quality is the basis for successful OE partnerships. The increasing number of OE supplies to leading European car manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Ford and VW provide evidence of the growing recognition Hankook enjoys among car manufacturers across Europe and worldwide. In keeping with the company’s core principle to provide drivers with technological excellence and premium quality in tyres, Hankook continually invests in research and development to provide their customers with the very latest Hankook tyre technologies in terms of safety, driving characteristics, comfort and environmental friendliness. 

In keeping with this philosophy the new facilities in Hannover set new standards of their own with regard to environmental friendliness and energy balance: A photovoltaic system installed on the building’s roof allows for CO2-neutral operations. 

Hankook Tire’s European headquarters are located in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main in Germany.