Hankook signs 5-year agreement with Vaculug retreading business in UK and Ireland

Hankook has signed a five-year agreement to produce Hankook Alphatread retreaded tyres in the UK. The tyre manufacturer wants to expand the Alphatread brand as part of its commercial vehicle tyre strategy. Vaculug is one of Europe’s largest independent retread producers, and first became Hankook’s retreading partner in the UK in 2018. The retreader will also work with Hankook products as a premium fitment for all its fleets.

“To offer our fleet and dealer partners a cost effective and ecological solution, Hankook continuously invests in its range and volumes of production of premium Alphatread hot-cured tyres,” says Guy Heywood, vice president marketing truck and bus tyres, Hankook Tire Europe. “Our new partnership with Vaculug will support our mission to offer attractive and sustainable products. This new agreement also ensures maximum value for our fleet customers.”

Jorge Crespo, managing director of Vaculug, commented “We are very proud of our association with Hankook and look forward to growing this relationship to new heights. While this agreement is only for an initial period of five years, we as a family have had a relationship with Hankook that goes back over four decades. We look forward to building on that partnership where the next generation of both Vaculug and Hankook help the environment through more sustainable initiatives such as this one.”

The Hankook SmartLife Solutions concept demonstrates the advantages of a hot retread for fleet companies. All Hankook commercial vehicle tyres are designed in such a way that they can be regrooved, while the high-quality carcass can be retreaded several times. These features allow fleet companies to be able to achieve significant economic benefits: 5-9 mm of additional base rubber under the tread delivers up to 25 per cent more mileage after regrooving.

Hankook says its Alphatread hot retreads can deliver up to 100 per cent of the mileage achieved with a new tyre and equivalent performance for around 60 per cent of the cost. If the regrooving and retreading process is continued in line with the Hankook SmartLife Solutions concept, the service life of a new tyre can be increased to 250 per cent.

As well as these financial benefits, there are also various benefits for the environment, retreads being an essential component of the tyre business’s circular economy. Around 70 per cent of the raw materials used in new tyres can be saved during retreading.

(left to right) Sanghoon Lee, president of Hankook Tire Europe; Haarjeev Kandhari, executive chairman, Vaculug; Jorge Crespo, managing director Vaculug; Guy Heywood, vice president marketing bus & truck tyres Hankook Tire Europe; Michael Evans, operations director Vaculug (Photo: Hankook)