Hankook's Suh urges tyre makers to be environmentally responsible

By Ed Noga, Crain News Service (R&PN)

Akron, Ohio - Tyre manufacturers need to push quality, cut their products' carbon footprint and their plant emissions, and make tyres safer.

That's the message delivered by Hankook Tire Co. Ltd.'s Sueng Hwa Suh in his keynote speech Sept. 20 at the Tire Society meeting in Akron.

The call to action by the vice chairman and CEO of the South Korean tyre maker was simpler for consumers: Get some air in your tyres.

To an audience made up of tyre industry participants from throughout the world, Mr. Suh challenged the industry to develop new raw materials that aid sustainability; reduce energy consumption in manufacturing and distribution; reduce tyres' carbon footprint; and focus on quality and safety.

Those points, however, need not be at the expense of environmental responsibility, he added.

“As global manufacturers, we must also be held accountable for helping to protect our environment,” he said. “We cannot be so absorbed in pursuing sales growth that we become blind to the vulnerability of our planet.”

Mr. Suh said performance and quality are the ultimate demonstration of technical competence. Hankook, he noted, devotes 5 percent of its total sales annually in research and development to meet those goals. Even the long recession and its ill effect on tyre makers didn't change that policy, he said.

“For Hankook Tire, this investment strategy has produced breakthroughs in tyre technology in the areas of tyre design, construction, compounding and manufacturing processes,” Mr. Suh said.

He used statistics from the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) to offer advice to motorists. A study released by the RMA last summer indicated that the tyres on only one in six vehicles are properly inflated, and 55 percent of all vehicles on the nation's roadways ride on at least one underinflated tyre.

Mr. Suh said this is dangerous and a waste of fuel.

“Therefore, I would like to propose that all tyre manufacturers jointly develop a global campaign for educating consumers about air pressure and the overwhelming benefits that we can all enjoy if we simply maintain proper inflation,” he said.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)