In his new role, Han will look after the company’s strategic direction and operations in the US and Canada and will provide support to the headquarters in Seoul for the company’s North American original equipment sales and the US-based technical centre in Richfield, Ohio.

Han will also provide direction on the company’s short- and long-term goals regarding operational and sales strategies.

Han is taking up new responsibilities while the whole global economy and the manufacturing industry are recovering from the pandemic impact. Han said his immediate priorities are fully understanding the North American market and getting to know the company’s customers in the United States.

“One of my priorities is to ensure our dealers that the company is supporting them in the best possible ways to navigate through the pandemic and thrive well beyond. The pandemic has also affected overall supply chain stability, causing some shortages as we assess variances in supply and demand. We will be focused on stabilising these variances to ensure quality products are delivered to customers in the time frames they need,” Han said.

Before accepting his new role as CEO, Han was Nexen Tire Corporation’s Global Marketing Vice President.

COVID 19 spread has turned the tyre business upside down. Priorities of manufacturers and end consumers have changed. Nexen Tire America is closely working with its customers to understand the requirements and support their business. “Obviously, the pandemic has affected all of our businesses from manufacturer to distributor to retail base, and we aim to be a resource of tools to help us all come out of this past year stronger than ever,” said Han.

Due to the pandemic digitalisation has got a further boost, and the company is focusing on offering digital resources. “Consumers are attentive on digital solutions to adhere to social distancing recommendations,” Han pointed out.

Brand strengthening

Han also worked as the president of Nexen Tire Italia for 7.5 years after working at Nexen Tire’s global headquarters in Korea from 2005-2011. Han has spent a considerable time of his career in the developing market. Now in the developed market, where the Nexen Tire brand is relatively young, Han will have a larger task strengthening its brand. “The Nexen brand has had time to mature in many parts of the Asian market, and by that, I mean there is higher brand awareness and brand loyalty amongst our customers. Nexen Tire is still a young brand here in the States, so we still have many opportunities to build our brand strength in this market,” explained Han.

Not only with the homegrown brands, but Nexen Tire also has competition from the Asian tyre companies, which are aggressively expanding their business in North America. Han said the company would continue building on its current strategies and relationships with the company dealer network to increase its market share in North America.

Research and Development, and customised solutions to meet the local demand play an important role in gaining the local market share. Nexen Tire has already established a global R&D network headed by its main R&D centre in Yangsan, Korea, along with its R&D facilities in the U.S., China, and Germany to develop future-oriented innovative products.

“While we have a legacy of strong partnerships with our Korean based R&D teams, Nexen Tire America has also developed an R&D centre in Ohio to focus on American and Canadian market R&D initiatives. This will ensure we are focused on North American market needs and we are prepared to meet these demands,” said Han.

This year, Nexen Tire aims to launch new products which are currently under development. It plans to announce details at the 2021 SEMA show.

Dealers are an integral part of the tyre business. Dealers are quite vocal and active in the developed nations compared to the developing countries. Nexen Tire will focus on strengthening its relationship with its dealers. “We currently have very strong relationships with our dealer base and will continue to strengthen these bonds in the future. Our strategies include being an integral partner to their growth in the ways of marketing, sales, customer service and product innovation.”

New Mobility

Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric mobilities are going the course of the automotive and the tyre industry is no exception. Sensing the future trends, tyre companies are heavily investing from R&D to production and distribution to meet future mobility. Nexen Tire is currently and consistently analysing and researching potential opportunities in the EV space. “Electric cars and mobility services are the waves of the future, and Nexen strives to stay at the forefront of these trends,” said Han.

Last year in September, Nexen Tire announced it will supply tyres for a new model of the electric car maker Canoo, a US startup company.

Canoo plans to launch the world’s first subscription-based electric vehicle (EV) plans. Under its business model, Canoo will use a membership model to sell its EVs. The company unveiled its first EV model in 2019 and plans to launch it in 2022 commercially.

Nexen Tire will supply its Rodian GTX EV Tyre, an electric vehicle version of Nexen Tire’s all-season premium SUV tyre Roadian GTX which offers electric vehicles’ requirements as tyre safety, durability and low noise. “We are also researching technologies for smart tyres to ensure we meet market demands and the future of mobility,” said Han.

Nexen Tire has also formed a strategic partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest corporate innovation platform and startup accelerator, to pursue innovative collaborations in the tyre and mobility industries.

With this partnership, Nexen Tire will seek to partner with the next wave of the most promising technologies in the tyre and mobility industries. This should also enable Nexen Tire to realise its ‘open R&D’ philosophy, offering collaboration and partnerships, especially to firms in the tyre technology field, the company had said.

Talking on the challenges, Han thinks the challenges in business are relatively constant. He added that the Nexen Tire aims to ensure sales increase year over year in a very dynamic and changing environment, including tariffs, global pandemics, and oversupply. “We prepare ourselves for these obstacles and opportunities by remaining fluid and shifting with the market as it requires,” said Han.

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The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company closes its FIA World Endurance Championship campaign this weekend as the 6 Hours of Monza returns, marking the final race for the current Goodyear Racing Eagle LMGT3 tyre specification. Although the Milan-area circuit has appeared on the WEC calendar before, this is its debut in the LMGT3 era, and the November scheduling should deliver markedly cooler conditions than the series encountered during its July 2023 visit to the circuit known as ‘The Temple of Speed’.

Designed for swift warmup, the Goodyear Racing Eagle Medium compound should give professional and amateur drivers alike the assurance to push hard immediately upon leaving the pit lane despite lower temperatures. The layout's long straights and tight chicanes echo Le Mans, and Goodyear engineers have leaned on prior experience at Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone to ready for the colder weather. Every LMGT3 team will have a designated Goodyear track support engineer on hand to advise on setup and race strategy across the weekend.

Single-stint tyre strategies are expected to be popular, mirroring last month's 6 Hours of Barcelona. If rain falls, the wide transition window of both the slick and wet tyres could open up intriguing strategic options on a drying surface. Beyond closing the third LMGT3 season in WEC, the weekend marks the last appearance of the current Racing Eagle slick and wet tyres; from next season, LMGT3 cars in WEC and the European Le Mans Series will race on new-specification tyres containing 66 percent sustainable material.

Across the Atlantic, Goodyear Racing Eagles will also be in action this weekend in the NASCAR Championship Races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In addition, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series wraps up next weekend at Pomona Dragstrip.

Stephen Bickley, Goodyear Endurance Program Manager, said, “Monza presents an interesting challenge to round out a competitive WEC season, particularly with the cooler conditions we expect at this time of year. Getting tyres up to temperature quickly will be important, but the fast warmup characteristics of our Goodyear Racing Eagle Medium should give drivers the confidence they need from the start of each stint. This weekend is a significant milestone for Goodyear as we conclude three seasons with our current LMGT3 tyre specification. After last month’s 6 Hours of Barcelona, teams have started testing our new tyres, which we’re looking forward to seeing in racing action next year.”

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Kuraray America, Inc. is commemorating 10 years of production at its Bayport facility, a milestone shaped by a workforce assembled from widely differing backgrounds. Since operations commenced in 2016, the site has drawn staff from the oil and gas sector, from other Kuraray America locations and from Kuraray Group operations in Singapore and Japan as expatriates. That blend of experience and perspective formed the groundwork on which the site was built.

Across its first decade, Bayport has delivered enduring value to the company and its customers, powered by employees who gave their time, passed on expertise, assisted colleagues and helped steer the site towards success. The occasion gains further meaning from its proximity to the Kuraray Group's 100th anniversary in June 2026.

Kuraray America thanked the employees and customers whose backing sustained Bayport through its opening decade and will remain crucial going forward. Jacqueline Unzueta received special mention for leading the anniversary event's coordination, while Hans Vandommele, Charles Neal, Nelson Rodriguez, Takehiro Kanno and Frank Taylor were also recognised in connection with the celebration. The company affirmed its commitment to carrying forward the teamwork, expertise and shared purpose that have characterised Bayport's first 10 years.

Reflecting on the site's growth and his own professional journey, Raymond Myska, Plant Manager at Kuraray America's Bayport site, said, "My own journey at Bayport began in 2017. I joined as Maintenance Manager, and in 2025, I had the privilege of stepping into the role of Plant Manager. Although I wasn't here when the doors first opened, I've had the opportunity to grow alongside this team, witness how far we've come and contribute to the success stories we're celebrating today."

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TyreSafe, UK’s leading tyre safety charity, has joined forces with Dudley Council Trading Standards for an enforcement operation targeting part-worn tyre retailers, with support from West Midlands Police. Unannounced audits followed earlier advisory visits during which traders had already received guidance on statutory obligations. Nonetheless, every business inspected failed to meet basic safety and legal standards, producing a 100 percent non-compliance rate.

The inspections exposed a range of serious breaches, including dangerous illegal string repairs, punctures in sidewall and shoulder areas that cannot be repaired, absent or temporary ‘PART-WORN’ markings, improper pressure testing, aged and hardened rubber and tread depth below the legal minimum. Under the Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994, such tyres must be thoroughly inflation-tested before sale, have at least 2.0 mm of tread, be structurally sound and carry a permanent uppercase ‘PART-WORN’ stamp.

Each trader subsequently received an individual Trader Notice summarising visit findings, identifying specific concerns, acknowledging compliance where found and offering practical guidance on meeting legal duties. TyreSafe and Dudley Trading Standards now intend to use the case study to urge other UK local authorities to prioritise joint enforcement against part-worn tyre retailers and remove illegal stock from the consumer market.

Laura Reuben, Public Protection Manager, Dudley Council, said, “The findings of this operation are deeply concerning. Consumers purchasing part-worn tyres often assume they are buying a safe, legal alternative to pass an MOT or save money, but our joint checks show a widespread disregard for basic safety laws. Educational visits alone have proven insufficient, and we will not hesitate to use our formal enforcement powers to protect motorists from dangerous stock.”

Stuart Lovatt, Chairman, TyreSafe, said, “This operation with Dudley Trading Standards exposes a stark reality: 100 percent non-compliance among the retailers audited, even after receiving compliance advice. Dangerous tyres on the road pose an immediate threat to driver and pedestrian safety. We urge local authorities across the UK to follow Dudley’s lead and integrate targeted, unannounced part-worn checks into their enforcement schedules.”

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Bridgestone Sales (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is assembling speed enthusiasts to showcase their sporty spirit and partake in exclusive motorsport excitement at the highly anticipated 2026 Bridgestone Driving Experience, themed ‘FEEL THE VIBE. SHARE THE MOMENT’. The event welcomes customers using any model of BRIDGESTONE POTENZA tyres to elevate their driving experience by taking their own vehicles onto a real racing circuit.

Now in its fourth consecutive year, the programme offers participants the chance to explore their vehicles’ full performance capabilities under the guidance of professional drivers and automotive experts. Theoretical sessions and practical driving techniques form the core of the experience, complemented by exclusive prizes, Hot Lap opportunities and giveaways throughout the day.

Entertainment highlights include an exclusive Meet & Greet with Beer Baiyoke and the Top Secret Thailand team; Thai actress-singer-model-racing driver Maprang Alisa Khunkhaeng, as well as Ko and the Street Doc team. The action-packed schedule promises excitement and motorsport experiences for all attendees.

Scheduled for 22 November 2026 at Pathum Thani Speedway in Pathum Thani Province, registration is already open from 21 October to 10 November 2026, with selected participants to be announced on 16 November 2026. Additionally, Bridgestone is offering a ‘Buy 3 Tires, Get 1 Free’ promotion for customers switching to POTENZA tyres, valid for purchases from 21 October to 10 November 2026, along with the chance to join the event. Interested customers can contact the page administrator through the POTENZA CLUB Facebook Group.

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