Hankook Tire Co. has officially opened its European winter tire testing facility in Ivalo, Finland.
Named the “Technotrac,” the testing facility is located approximately 300 km north of the Arctic Circle and has flat tracks for testing braking, traction and lateral stability on snow or ice, as well as two snow handling tracks for tire evaluation, Hankook said.
The tiremaker adds that the tracks are specifically designed to meet the needs of premium vehicle manufacturers in Germany. The Technotrac also houses offices, conference rooms, workshops, and a large cold-storage warehouse.
“Technotrac, Ivalo, is another testimony that represents our strong global competitiveness through technology leadership,” said Mr. Seung-Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire Co. “By facing rapid changes in the business environment proactively and by delivering products optimized for various customer needs, we will continue to acquire more robust, advanced research and development capabilities as a global premium tire brand.”
According to Hankook, the winter tire testing facility will allow the tiremaker to develop original technology with strengthened basic applied research, such as new material technology, winter tire pattern and profile. The Technotrac will also allow Hankook to complete more than 2,000 sets of tire evaluations, increasing accuracy, to respond to OE demand in the European market.
The tiremaker commissioned the Finnish tire testing company Test World Oy to build the testing facility in 2015.
