BRAMPTON, Ontario—Hankook Tire Canada Corp. has received global recognition for design at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) event, hosted recently by the Industrial Design Society of America.
The South Korean tire maker received bronze for the design of Flexup, a one-person vehicle that has the ability to maneuver urban terrain, including staircases, speedbumps and narrow roadways. The vehicle, Hankook said in a news release, operates using driving treads that expand and contract and has the capacity to reach speeds of roughly 20 mph.
Shiftrac, a hyper agility-based concept tire, received finalist recognition from IDEA. The tire, Hankook said, is "designed to perform smooth and agile driving within a mega-city through the use of block shifting and skating principles that push outwards." This design allows for more versatile travel, allowing for precision on turns and fast lane change.
Both products introduced by Hankook were designed as part of the firm's Design Innovation 2016 program, which allowed students from select colleges and universities around the world to work with Hankook engineers on design projects.
"Receiving these prestigious awards from the world's top three design competitions testifies Hankook Tire's global recognition for innovative design philosophy capabilities for future driving," Seung Hwa Suh, vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire, said in a news release. "As a global premium top-tier tire company with cutting-edge technology and design excellence, Hankook Tire will continue with its extensive design innovation for a pleasant future driving experience."
Several Hankook products—designed in collaboration with some of the world's leading design colleges and universities—have received global recognition from a variety of groups and organizations. Most recently, the tire maker received an IDEA 2015 award; the Luminary award at the Red Dot Awards; and the iF Gold Award 2016.