COLOGNE, Germany—Lanxess A.G. and Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop synthetic rubber technologies for high performance tires.
The companies agreed to jointly study the development of high-performance synthetic rubber grades and applications that increase tire performance.
Lanxess said it has maintained a close partnership with Hankook since 2008, when the tire company awarded Lanxess a long-term contract to supply solution SBR and neodymium performance butadiene rubber.
The firm expects the partnership to strengthen ties further between itself and Hankook, both in terms of technological development and supply of raw materials.
“Lanxess has a strong reputation for sophisticated and customized research and development efforts and for having innovation as its key driving force,” Joachim Grub, head of Lanxess' performance butadiene rubbers business unit, said in a statement.
Hankook plans to organize a number of activities for the firms to exchange knowledge, according to a company spokesman. It will conduct lab validations consisting of standardization of tire test results, which will lead to a more precise analysis of tire test results.