Hankook has announced that it has been selected as the original equipment manufacturer for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class across all markets.

Hankook has announced that it has been selected as the original equipment manufacturer for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class across all markets.

Hankook has announced that it has been selected as the original equipment manufacturer for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class across all markets.Hankook has announced that it has been selected as the original equipment manufacturer for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class across all markets.

In a release the company said that it is the “MO” label on the tyre wall that Hankook is particularly proud of, as the two letters stand for “Mercedes Original”. 

Only tyres with this seal are approved as original equipment for a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, which abide by aa criteria in this regard, the release said. A tyre has to fulfill up to 50 criteria to meet the strict quality requirements of the Mercedes-Benz Group in terms of safety, precision and comfort.

Jeongho Park, Executive Vice President and Director of OE Division at Hankook Tyre said, “’We are very proud to be the original equipment supplier for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is considered the absolute top of the luxury segment in the global automotive industry. We see this as confirmation that our products meet the highest requirements across different markets.” 

After Hankook was already represented with a basic tyre on a previous model, Mercedes-Benz has now included Hankook as original equipment manufacturer for a large number of different tyre sizes and types following its approval for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. For the current luxury saloon car presented in September 2020, Hankook supplies three different tyre types, for summer, winter and all-season in a range of different sizes.

In the European market, the Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 summer tyres range from size 255/50 R 18 to 285/40 R 19. The Mercedes-Benz Group has approved the Hankook Winter i*cept evo 2 in sizes 255/50 R 18 and 255/45 R 19 as winter tyres for its top model. Hankook said it’s engineers were able to significantly improve the driving behaviour of both tyre types with an aramid hybrid reinforcement belt. 

The Hankook Winter i*cept evo 2 also has a further optimised tread stiffness, which is of benefit in terms of handling and mileage. Moonhwa Hong, Senior Vice President and CTO of OE Development Department at Hankook Tyre said, “During the transition from the first to the second casting, we applied additional cross-braces and a lower tread depth. Narrower, lateral tread grooves and a modified contour on the second upper groove once again brought about measurable progress in terms of noise comfort”. 

The Mercedes-Benz Group uses the “MOE” (Mercedes Original Extended) label to designate runflat tyres with reinforced sidewalls. They can continue to be driven at up to 80 km/h even in the event of a sudden loss of pressure. They guarantee sufficient mobility even in the event of a flat tyre, allowing the driver to get from the motorway or a country road to the nearest Mercedes-Benz dealership for example. 

In the United States, high speed indices play a minor role due to restrictive speed limits. On the other hand, this market, which is very important for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, has extremely high requirements when it comes to ride and noise comfort. American customers of this luxury model benefit from Hankook Ventus S1 noble 2 in size 255/45 R 19 and in the runflat design. 

The Ventus S1 noble 2 in size 255/40 R 20 is even more comfortable. The “MOE-S” label (Mercedes Original Extended Silent) on the tire wall indicates that the tyre is particularly quiet. In order to meet the stringent noise requirements for this category, Hankook engineers applied Hankook Sound Absorber. This involves integrating a special polyurethane foam plate into the tyre body during the manufacturing process. The plate minimises the vibrations of the air column inside the tyre which are perceived as a particularly unpleasant humming sound. Sound absorber tyres can reduce the peak noise level by five to seven dB(A) and are particularly suitable for ultra-high-performance tires with small cross-sections but large overall resonance cavities. 

Complex simulation tools were used when developing tyres for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, especially when optimising the pass-by noise. These tools make it possible to precisely compare the values calculated in advance with the actual noise development of prototype tires. While the main part of the development work took place in the high-tech R&D centre Hankook Technodome, which opened in 2016, the engineers mainly used test tracks in Germany, Finland or Spain for practical testing. 

Hankook said it’s engineers also identified potential for improvement in the manufacturing process. The all-season and winter tyres in particular have benefited from a new mold release method. While the even separation of the green tyre and the mold was previously ensured by eight mold sectors with almost identical angles, Hankook now uses nine or eleven sectors with different angles. The result of this is that the tyres now meet the strict uniformity goals of the premium manufacturer even better than before while also boasting more harmonious rolling characteristics. (TT)

Denka Company Limited announced it would record an extraordinary loss of approximately 16.1 billion yen (£85.8 million) as an impairment on manufacturing facilities at its US subsidiary. It will indefinitely suspend chloroprene rubber production at the Louisiana plant.

The Japanese chemical manufacturer, which holds a 70 percent stake in Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (DPE), cited mounting operational challenges, including unexpectedly high costs for pollution control equipment and declining production volumes at the American facility.

“DPE has faced significant cost, production and other challenges at its facility in the United States,” the company said in a statement. “Rising costs are attributable to, among other factors, identification, design, purchase, installation, and operation of pollution control equipment to reduce chloroprene emissions that DPE did not anticipate being required when it acquired the facility from E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.”

The subsidiary was established in December 2014 and acquired the chloroprene rubber business from DuPont in November 2015. The Louisiana facility was intended to serve as a second manufacturing site in North America, complementing Denka’s Omi Plant in Itoigawa, Niigata, Japan.

However, according to the company statement, DPE has struggled with multiple operational issues, including “rising energy costs and a shortage of qualified staff necessary to operate new pollution control equipment and implement other emission reduction measures. “

Production volumes have declined partly due to “operational restrictions arising from the pollution reduction measures and unscheduled plant outages associated with supply chain disruptions and severe weather events,” Denka said.

The company noted that these challenges, combined with changes in the global economic environment for chloroprene rubber, have pressured profitability, making near-term improvement difficult.

Denka confirmed that DPE employs 250 people as of December 2024 and will not restart its chloroprene rubber manufacturing facilities following a regular maintenance shutdown. Instead, “all options for the business, including a potential sale of the business or its assets, will be considered,” the statement said.

The company emphasised that “no decision regarding a permanent closure of the facility has been made at this time.”

Customers will continue to be supplied from current inventories and production at the company’s Omi Plant in Japan.

DPE is 70 percent owned by Denka USA LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Denka Company Limited, and 30 percent by Diana Elastomers, Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Yokohama Rubber reported a 56.9 percent year-on-year decline in profit attributable to owners for the first quarter of 2025, despite posting a 9.0 percent increase in sales revenue.

The Japanese tyre maker recorded a profit of 8.53 billion yen for the three months ended 31 March, down from 19.8 billion yen in the same period last year. Business profit fell 3.2 percent to 24.07 billion yen, while sales revenue rose to 275.12 billion yen.

The company maintained its full-year forecast, projecting an 11.4 percent increase in sales revenue to 1.22 trillion yen and an 8.8 percent rise in profit to 81.5 billion yen for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2025.

Yokohama Rubber attributed the profit decline to one-time costs related to its February acquisition of Goodyear’s off-the-road (OTR) tyre business, which it purchased for approximately 143 billion yen.

“Profit from existing businesses was strong,” the company said in its earnings statement. “In addition to increased sales volume for the company’s consumer tyres, mainly in overseas markets, and continued expansion of sales of high-value-added ADVAN, GEOLANDAR, and Winter tyres as well as high-inch tyres, profit was boosted by the MB segment’s MIX improvements and structural reforms.”

The tyre segment, which accounts for 91percent of the group’s consolidated sales revenue, saw a 10.4 percent increase in sales to 250.32 billion yen. Original equipment tyre sales were higher year-on-year, driven by “strong sales in Japan of vehicle models equipped with YOKOHAMA tyres and expansion of shipments for Chinese automakers’ new energy vehicles,” the company said.

Replacement tyre sales also increased, supported by higher sales of summer and winter tyres in Japan, increased sales of high-inch tyres in Europe, and stepped-up sales efforts in Asia.

The MB (Multiple Businesses) segment, which represents 8.4 percent of total sales, experienced a 3.2 percent revenue decline to 23.02 billion yen. This was attributed to lower demand from construction machinery makers in Japan and automakers in North America.

The company described an “upbeat” business sentiment in Japan for the quarter, noting that “a steady recovery in inbound demand and increasing orders for construction and logistics projects compensated for weak consumption by domestic households curbing spending in response to rising prices of consumer goods.”

Overseas, the company observed rising inflation concerns weighing on consumer spending in the United States, while in Europe, “manufacturing industries are rebounding and corporate business sentiment is improving.” In China, personal consumption was boosted by the Spring Festival holiday, but high US tariffs “reduced China’s exports and created uncertainty about the future that is weakening industrial activity.”

Swedish speciality chemicals firm Nynas reported solid financial results for 2024, posting an Adjusted EBITDA of 1,333 million Swedish kronor, marginally higher than the 1,316 million kronor recorded in 2023.

The company, which specialises in naphthenic speciality oils and bitumen products, attributed its performance to operational efficiency and commercial success in its niche markets.

“We are delighted with the progress made during 2024, evidencing our right-sized cost base and a more targeted commercial and manufacturing footprint. We have redefined our strategic direction, positioning Nynas as a speciality chemicals company, enabling the energy transition and setting our course for 2035,” Nynas CEO Eric Gosse said in a statement.

The firm highlighted strong cash generation from operations, which it said would support planned investments and longer-term growth initiatives. Nynas also mentioned the ongoing transformation of its Harburg site with plans to monetise the asset eventually.

All three of the company’s production facilities maintained high operational reliability between 95 percent and 99 percent. The Nynäshamn refinery achieved a notable milestone: in May 2024, it set a new monthly production record for naphthenic speciality oils at 42,000 tonnes.

Strategic pivot towards sustainability

Nynas outlined a strategic shift focused on higher-margin speciality materials with sustainable characteristics. The company aims to strengthen its position in European markets through innovation and sustainability initiatives.

“Nynas is uniquely positioned to contribute to the energy transition. Our strategy reflects our purpose to advance a more sustainable society, and our product development pipeline is fully aligned with this goal," Gosse added.

In 2024, the company received an EcoVadis Gold rating, placing it in the top 5 percent of globally rated businesses for sustainability performance.

With consecutive years of strong financial performance, Nynas indicated it continues to monitor debt capital markets to optimise its capital structure “at the appropriate time potentially”.

The Swedish chemicals producer noted that, having ceased operations in the United States in 2022, it remains largely insulated from recent global trade tensions surrounding US import tariffs. The company imports only minimal feedstock from America, shielding it from potential cross-border trade disputes.

JK Tyre & Industries Ltd has strengthened its position as a leader in sustainable tyre technology and a conscientious partner in India's green industrial journey by commencing production of its ‘UX Royale Green’ passenger car tyres at its Chennai Tyre Plant using ISCC Plus-certified sustainable raw materials.

Developed in August 2023, the UX Royale Green is made with 80 percent sustainable, recycled and renewable materials and was put to rigorous evaluation and testing. The sustainable tyre is the product of more than 10 years of diligent study conducted by the Global Tech Centre of JK Tyre. The company's research and development team has been concentrating on creating sustainable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based products. The certification confirms the usage of traceable, ethically obtained renewable and recycled raw materials and is given under the internationally recognised International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC +) system. Certified raw materials for the UX Royale Green include steel wire, recycled polyester, recovered carbonaceous black, bio-attributed polymers, renewable oils and recycled rubber powder. All of these products are sourced using circular methods.

Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, said, "The commencement of sustainable tyre production represents a defining step in JK Tyre’s journey toward environmentally responsible innovation. We are pleased to set new industry benchmarks that balance high performance with ecological responsibility. This milestone reflects our ongoing commitment to driving responsible mobility – anchored in green technology, circular economy principles and the delivery of world-class, low-impact products. At the same time, innovation, quality and safety continue to be foundational to our operations."