Hankook, trailer maker extend partnership

NEU-ISENBURG, Germany (Feb. 19, 2015) — South Korea's Hankook Tire Co. Ltd., parent firm of Hankook Tire America Corp., has extended its alliance with Schmitz Cargobull A.G., a European manufacturer of truck trailers.

Hankook, parent firm of Hankook Tire America Corp., said its TBR trailer tires have been available as original fitment tires for years for all Cargobull trailer types. In addition to the long-term extension of delivery contracts, the two companies also agreed to cooperate on future strategic collaborations on an international level.

Schmitz Cargobull, which specializes in the production of semitrailers for heavy-duty trucks, “set benchmarks for especially efficient transport solutions,” according to Seoul, South Korea-based Hankook, adding that the trailer maker is known for its “innovative manufacturing and intelligent production technologies.”

As part of the deal, Hankook said it will deliver its state-of-the-art, “environmentally friendly and efficient TBR trailer tires, which have been adapted to European conditions,” to Schmitz Cargobull. Those tires include the Hankook series e-cube/e-cube MAX and SmartWork as OE fitments to Horstmar, Germany-based Schmitz Cargobull.

Hankook said its OE business with Schmitz, which will initially concentrate on the European market, covers nine trailer sizes in the 19.5 and 22.5 inch range, including the tire maker's new mega-trailer size 455/40 R 22.5 in the e-cube MAX series. All Hankook tires are delivered directly to the trailer maker's manufacturing site.

Hankook premium truck tires are being fitted to Schmitz trailers for national and international heavy duty long-haul traffic and have been optimized for rolling resistance, the company said.

“In addition to the use of our modern truck tires by globally leading truck manufacturers as original equipment, the expansion of our cooperation with Schmitz Cargobull A.G. is further proof of the recognition of our high product quality and innovative strength. It will give us a further boost for the expansion of our pan-European activities in this segment,” said Ho-Youl Pae, Hankook Tire chief operating officer for Europe.

Dietmar Olbrich, Hankook vice president of marketing and sales for the German-speaking markets, added that the company is “pleased to be intensifying our cooperation even further and are proud of the fact that our tires and services meet the requirements of the market leader in terms of performance, efficiency and sustainability.”

“The further extension of the strategic partnership with Hankook as our tire partner is the right logical step for us, since Hankook's strategy effectively supplements the SCB strategy,” said Bernhard Schmitz, managing partner at Schmitz Cargobull.

Alain Versace, head of tire business development at the company, noted that Schmitz Cargobull's “long-term cooperation with Hankook will support our premium products so that we can deliver optimum transport solutions to our customers in future, too.”

Hankook Tire's European headquarters are located in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The tire maker also operates branches in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Sweden and Poland. More information on Hankook's European operations is on its website.