Premium tire manufacturer Hankook will be an OEM supplier for MAN. The MAN Truck & Bus AG belongs to the Volkswagen Group, one of Hankook's largest OE customers worldwide. The OE business with Hankook truck tires for MAN will initially concentrate on the European market and cover 25 tire sizes in the 22.5 and 24-inch range. Tire manufacturer Hankook will be supplying Original Equipment for various MAN heavy-duty trucks in future. The MAN Truck & Bus AG headquarters based in Munich/Germany are one of the largest truck manufacturers in Europe and a pioneer in the field of efficient transport solutions thanks to numerous innovative technologies. From the first quarter 2015 onwards, Hankook will be supplying its truck tire ranges e-cube MAX, SmartFlex and SmartWork for various MAN models to the manufacturer's production facilities in Germany, Austria and Poland. The tire ranges have been specially adapted for European conditions boasting both ecological and economic advantages. The vehicles to be equipped include the award-winning MAN vehicle ranges TGX, TGM and TGS for national and international heavy-duty transport. e-cube MAX tires which have been optimized in terms of rolling resistance are to be used for international long-haul traffic, the new SmartFlex all-season tire range is foreseen for flexible use between long-haul and distribution traffic, as well as construction treads from the SmartWork range. Specially adapted for use on vehicles of the EURO 6 emission class, the treads – both as special steering and drive axle versions – score highly for environmental friendliness and mileage, both of which are relevant to the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for Original Equipment. Marwan Bin Shihon, Vice President of Bin-Shihon Group, the exclusive distributor of Hankook tires in Saudi Arabia, said “it is a proud moment for all of us and yet another feather in the hat. This only reaffirms our commitment to the best quality and capitalizing on our R&D. We shall in future be seeing the fruits of this deal in Saudi Market as well.” He added “we are looking forward to our future cooperation with MAN in Saudi Arabia and are proud that our products ranges fulfill the demanding requirements of the MAN engineers, particularly with regard to performance, efficiency and sustainability “This is further proof of the acknowledgement of the high product quality and innovative strength of our modern truck tires, and will give us additional drive in our efforts to extend our European activities in this segment.” Hankook SmartFlex is the intelligent truck and bus tire solution for medium and long distances that has been specially oriented towards current requirements for increased durability and driving safety under changing weather conditions. All SmartFlex tires are equipped with extra-deep 3-dimensional self-cleaning sipes which permit a particularly homogeneous wear pattern and additional improvement in mileage performance and overall tire efficiency. Other technologies used, such as self-regenerating sipes, help to prevent one-sided, irregular wear. The innovative mixing system IMS (Innovative Mixing System) used for all modern Hankook treads guarantees the even distribution of soot particles and rubber molecules within the rubber compounds. The combination of this fact with the extension of the mixing times at reduced temperatures resulted in a significant increase of the bonding rate between soot and rubber molecules. Consequently, Hankook truck tires generate less heat and achieve lower fuel consumption. The design technology SCCT (Stiffness Control Contour Theory) patented by Hankook guarantees more stability and less movement in the tire, particularly on account of a homogeneous distribution of internal pressure. The effect of this is increased carcass durability, which promises very good reconditioning properties and efficiency. — SG
