Innovative technologies in the Hungarian Hankook factory

Origo.hu reports on two puncture proof and a soundproof tyre manufactured in the Hungarian Hankook factory in Rácalmás.

South-Korean cars quickly became popular in Hungary in the ‘90s. Although they could not yet exceed their Western rivals, compared to Socialist cars, they were offered for reasonable prices and with many great features. At the time, these cars were associated with cheap Korean tyres such as Hankook. Since then, Hankook has gone through immense improvements, and became a significant opponent for the most notable Western brands. It is now the 5^th biggest tyre manufacturer in the world, spanning three continents with five development centres and seven factories, one of them in Hungary.

Among others, Hankook works with premium brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. The Hungarian factory was built 10 years ago, to satisfy the demands of these brands and to have their tyres manufactured in Europe. Today, one third of the 18-19 million tyres made every year in Rácalmás are taken to car factories, not tyre retailers.

According to origo.hu, one of the Hankook’s top products is the Ventus S1 Evo2, which uses the HRS (Hankook Runflat System) technology. Enhanced sidewall stiffness guarantees that the tyre never goes flat, so even if all the air escapes, the tyre is still capable of supporting the weight of the car.

Another flat-proof Hankook tyre is the Ventus Prime 2 Sealguard. It works with a resin-like, sticky material made of polyisobutylene and raw rubber, which is spread in a 4 mm layer on the inside of the tyre. This layer can seal any hole up to 5 mm, so the tyre does not lose air even if a thick nail punctures it, which is then removed. A further advantage of this self-sealing technology is that it can secure any number of holes the tyre might get. In Western Europe 89-90 pc of flat tyres are caused by sharp objects and nails, however, in Hungary the main cause instead is sharp-rimmed potholes that ruin the sidewalls of the tyre. Even the Sealguard technology is not safe enough for these.

Puncture-proof technologies have been developed by other manufacturers as well, but the sound absorber version of the Ventus S1 Evo2 is a Hankook innovation. It was specifically designed for the new Audi Q7 to lessen the noise of the wide, 285 mm tyres. The puncture sealer material is used as a glue, to fix a polyurethane layer on the inside of the tyre which reduces the noise by 5-7 decibel over 90 km/h.

Photo: Hankook

Copy editor: bm

Source: origo.hu