Hankook, Lanxess join forces for synthetic rubber development

Hankook Tire and German specialty chemicals firm Lanxess will work together on the development of synthetic rubber technologies for use in high performance tyres. The details of the two companies’ collaboration were laid out in a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 26 February. Under the agreement, Hankook and Lanxess will jointly work to expedite the development of synthetic rubber grades for high performance tyres. Lanxess says the MoU builds on the ties it has maintained with Hankook since 2008, when the tyre maker awarded it a long-term contract to supply solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) and neodymium performance butadiene rubber (Nd-PBR).

“Based on our proven technological excellence, Hankook Tire has been focusing on high-performance tyre sector and has made continuous research and development and investment efforts as part of our pathway towards becoming a global top-tier tyre company,” said Dr. Lee Sang Ju, senior vice-president and head of Global R&D at Hankook Tire. “Our continued research and development efforts with this technical partnership will further contribute to solidify our position as a global premium tyre maker with even more advanced tyre technology.”

“Lanxess has a strong reputation for sophisticated and customised research and development efforts and for having ‘innovation’ as its key driving force,” added Dr. Joachim Grub, head of the company’s Performance Butadiene Rubbers business unit. “In this new technical partnership, we will assist Hankook Tire in achieving a key position as a global tyre maker of high-quality products based on leading-edge technologies.”