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.

Eurogrip Tyres, the leading tyre manufacturer in India, showcased its premium two-wheeler tyres at the 17th edition of Feria 2 Ruedas (F2R) International Motorcycle exhibition held at Plaza Mayor, Medellin, Colombia. The dates of this high-profile business event in South America's two-wheeler sector are 15–18 May 2025.

For more than 17 years, the Feria de las 2 Ruedas (F2R) has been the leading motorcycle industry event in Latin America. The expo, which takes place every year in Medellín, Colombia, is a vibrant venue for commerce, innovation and growth in the motorcycling sector. Additionally, it gives aficionados the chance to investigate the most recent developments and trends in the industry. The company showcased its premium lineup at exhibit N24 in the Tented Pavillion, which included a range of sport touring, off-road and trail tyres. High-performance versions including the Roadhound, Protorq Extreme, Trailhound STR, Climber, Bee Connect, Terrabite DB+ and Badhshah LX were on display.

P Madhavan, Executive Vice-President – Marketing & Sales, TVS Srichakra Ltd, said, “Eurogrip is focused to deliver innovative products for the global markets. Latin America is a priority market for us, and F2R Expo is a promising platform to engage with our target audience. We are looking forward to interesting business opportunities arising from this expo. Such specialised industry tradeshows add exceptional value to our quest in becoming a leading global tyre brand delivering world class tyre technology.”

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.