Nexen breaks ground on new technical center

RICHFIELD, Ohio — Nexen Tire Corp.'s technical presence in the U.S. is about to get significantly bigger.

The firm broke ground Oct. 17 on a 34,000-sq.-ft. technical center in Richfield that is expected to be operational by year-end 2018. The project represents an investment of about $5 million, not including additional equipment.

Nexen Project Engineer Gary Zolton said employment is projected to reach 40, up from 17, within five years after the new center is operational.

"Nexen is very committed to the North American market and this center we're building is a testament to that," Nexen Project Manager Aaron Neumann said.

The firm operates out of two buildings in Richfield — a 8,000-sq.-ft. office and a 5,000-sq.-ft. development space. The new site will bring all of Nexen's operations under one roof with a warehouse capable of housing up to 3,000 tires.

Half of the new technical center will consist of office space. The other half, in addition to the warehouse, will house labs for compound development, tire forensics and noise, vibration and harshness evaluation. It will also house test machines for rolling resistance and high-speed uniformity.

The center develops tires for the original equipment and consumer markets, conducts rubber compound and materials research, conducts evaluations for performance and noise/vibration/harshness, mold design, tire styling, and finite element analysis.

Fiat Chrysler Group L.L.C. (FCA) is one of the firm's major OE customers. Mr. Neumann said the firm has fitments on almost all of FCA's Dodge Ram vehicles with another one to be introduced in 2018.

The company has three tire plants — two in South Korea and another in China — and a fourth under construction in Czech Republic due online in 2018 with an annual capacity of more than 12 million units and more than 1,000 jobs.

Nexen projects its global tire capacity will increase to 44 million units next year from 39 million in 2015. That total will rise to 52 million by 2021 as the Czech factory scales up.

"The core strength of our company is the factories," Mr. Neumann said. "We have state-of-the-art factories, and our factory that supplies the U.S. market in (South) Korea is brand new. It's filled with top-of-the-line equipment, a lot of it made right here in Ohio."

The technical center could be just the beginning. Don Lee, the tech center's director of technology, said the firm plans to establish a manufacturing presence somewhere in North America — ideally the U.S. — by 2021. He added that the center would be the base for technology to support the firm's production if and when it's established.

"Everything is still on the table. It hasn't been decided," Mr. Zolton said. "Certainly from our point of view it'd be nice to have it in the U.S., but it's whatever makes the most sense for supply, demand and the situation."

The plant would serve both the North and South American markets.

"Nexen was strategically a local company, and now in the last 10 years it's broadened its base to be a global company," Mr. Zolton said.

"We have the plant in Czech Republic coming on board, we have the plant in China, so the logical step is to service this market more efficiently. Some of our OEs that we talk to, basically they really want production here. That's very important to us."

The firm also showcased some of its future technology concepts — which include connectivity solutions to relay more information back to the cabin and sealants to avoid tread punctures.

Mr. Neumann said Nexen's vision for the autonomous vehicle future, whenever it may arrive, will include a drastically different perspective when it comes to tires: they will need to become invisible. With autonomous and even electric vehicles drastically reducing engine noise, the quiet environment will enhance the other noises present. Nexen's goals are to make sure consumers enjoy a quiet ride without any disturbances.

Mr. Neumann added that the customer might not even own the vehicle as self-driving fleets will likely look a lot like the current truck/bus market, which are controlled by fleet managers.

"We want it to be quiet, comfortable and get traction in all weather conditions so the customer doesn't notice it," Mr. Neumann said. "We want no more flat tires or interruptions in travel so the customer doesn't have to deal with that. We don't want the customer to worry about the tire pressure or the worn tire condition, or worry about buying new tires."