Hankook expands testing capacity in Spain

Hankook Tire has expanded its testing and development capacities in Europe with the commissioning of a new test centre in Spain. The facility, located some 40 miles southwest of Barcelona on the premises of the Applus+ IDIADA Group, will enable the tyre maker to “build on even more efficient and state-of-the-art, fully automated test logistics for European tyre development in the future.”

The partnership between Hankook Tire and Applus+ IDIADA stretches back 15 years. Some features at the facility in Spain, such as the wet handling track, were developed taking Hankook’s recommendations into account. Today these areas also serve European premium car manufacturers as development tracks for their own demanding tests.

In order to be able to carry out the tyre tests even more efficiently in the future, the new Hankook test centre is equipped with automated and completely paperless test logistics, from the recording of results to storage and transport processing. Hankook has also built new offices, recreation and social rooms for its 20-strong test team in Spain, which is affiliated to the Hankook Europe Technical Centre in Germany.

Reaching the next level

“With the further expansion of our testing capacities in Spain, we are reaching the next level together with our local partner Applus+ IDIADA,” says Klaus Krause, head of Hankook Tire’s European Research and Development Center. “We are confident that the newly installed testing facilities in particular will significantly improve our efforts to provide the best tyre testing conditions and services to our employees and customers. In addition, we will also be able to conduct significantly more tests on site.”

Hankook Tire will hold an official inauguration on site as soon as the current pandemic situation allows.