SINGAPORE—International tire distributor Omni United Pte. Ltd. has hired tire industry veteran Olli Seppala as its global head of research and development.
Seppala spent nearly 20 years with Nokian Tyres P.L.C., where he started as a junior engineer and advanced to the role of the head of Nokian's global R&D department.
At Omni, Seppälä will help drive Omni's product research, design and development as well as testing.
Omni said the move comes at a time when it is "heavily investing in research and new product development, with the goal of making premium products more accessible to its customers," and the company will lean heavily on Seppala's experience in passenger, light truck and heavy duty tire development.
GS Sareen, president and CEO of Omni United, said that over the past seven years, Omni has focused its time, effort and resources into "staying relevant to the needs of the market as well as tapping into future opportunities such as the upcoming EV segment."
Sareen said that with Seppala's "proven track record in innovation and expertise in the passenger and light truck segment," the company will take its product offering to the next level.
"I am very excited to start my new chapter with Omni United," Seppala said. "I see great opportunity for growth and product innovation and look forward to working with the incredibly agile and innovative team at Omni."
Omni offers a range of consumer and commercial tires, under these brands: Radar Tires, Patriot Tires, American Tourer, Tecnica, Agora, Corsa and RoadLux.
Sareen recently announced that Omni United has formed a partnership with Italian automotive design house GFG Style to produce lines of his company's Radar-branded tires. The first, the Renegade-X, is expected to roll out in five sizes, designed to compete in the mountain-terrain category.