SEOUL, Korea – Hankook Tire has announced plans to build the Hankook Tire Test Engineering Center in Sangju City, Korea. Hankook Tire signed a memorandum of understanding with Sangju City, located in the northern Gyeongsang province, and will invest a total of KRW 240 million until 2020 for the construction of a top-tier proving ground and a tire R&D facility.
Covering a total area of 132 hectare, the Hankook Tire Test Engineering Center will be the largest proving ground in Korea, incorporating state-of-the-art test facilities, the company stated.
The Hankook Tire Test Engineering Center will be a fully equipped proving ground with top-tier global standard tire testing facility. The facility will enable tire tests with ultra-high performance (UHP) tire products, simulating extreme driving conditions. Tests with truck and bus tires can also be conducted.
In addition, the testing track at this new engineering center, approximately 30 kilometers long, will be able to emulate all road and weather conditions around the world, allowing Hankook Tire to conduct a prior quality and performance tests in order to ensure its products accommodate each market’s demand and different conditions.
Upon its completion, the Hankook Tire Test Engineering Center will become the company’s key R&D facility that allows its engineers to design, produce, test and analyze tires as a one-package process in one location.
Construction of the Hankook Tire Test Engineering Center also will contribute to the local economy through job creation, with plans to hire approximately 370 research and operational personnel. The proving ground, in addition to the Driving Center and Children’s Safety Experience Zone, both of which are still in the planning process, will bring in a gamut of visitors from all fields and interests, the tiremaker says.
“The Hankook Tire Test Engineering Center in Sangju City, in addition to our new central R&D Center, will become the center of global tire technology and development,” said Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire. “As a global top-tier tire brand, Hankook Tire will continue our endeavor to provide drivers around the world with a premium driving experience with our unique advanced tire technology.”
