COLOGNE, Germany—Continental Corp. and Kordsa Tecknik Tekstil A.S. have reported strong demand from companies interested in licensing their new resorcinol-formaldehyde-free tire cord adhesive system.
The technology, dubbed Cokoon, was introduced in March by the two companies as a free "open innovation, open source" platform to serve the industry.
"Within a few weeks of the announcement, more than 25 NDAs were sent out (to interested parties)," Burak Ilgun, market development manager, Kordsa, said in a joint presentation at Future Tire Conference 2019. Tire manufacturers, textile suppliers and converters , and research groups have been among the initial group of companies interested in Cokoon, Ilgun added at the event, held June 11-12 in Cologne.
Conti and Kordsa are offering the technology as part of a technology pool: In return for the free licensing, each pool member has to cross-license its own existing and future improvements on the technology for free.
The name Cokoon, Ilgun explained, has been chosen to represent a "transformation" within the industry, toward a more collaborative environment.
The new tire cord adhesive offers a sustainable alternative to systems based on formaldehyde and resorcinol, according to Thomas Kramer, head of expertfield reinforcements and skim compounds for Continental Reifen Deutschland.
Both formaldehyde and resorcinol are under increasing regulatory scrutiny due to human toxicity issues, Kramer told Future Tire delegates.