Sustainability is no longer just an option for industry, it is a pre-condition for the future. Moving towards a greener future, Hankook Tire has set a goal to have 80% of its tires as environmentally friendly products by 2030. Of course, not all manufacturing processes can be made green, but there is one area where there is huge potential: raw materials.
Our engineers are also working on the research and development of these components, in close collaboration with ETC (European Technology Centre) experts. We spoke to Móni Plesz and Ági Jáksó, senior chemical engineers at the EU DST, about their work, their current projects and the challenges they face.
Móni has been working in our development support department for 7 years, where she is involved in testing, implementation and approval of new raw materials. Ági has been a member of the Hankook team for 10 years, she is responsible for the introduction of tire compounds (and partly raw materials). The name of her team changes from year to year, but the challenges are constant and, as they say, their responsibilities are constantly expanding.
“Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be an engineer, that time it didn’t matter what kind. Eventually, I drifted towards chemistry. I’ve done well, I like my job and the fact that it’s very varied.” says Ági.
The diversity of their activities extends to projects and workflows, and even more! It’s a misconception that engineering is an office job in the strict sense, as Móni and Ági are constantly commuting between the office and the factory.
“...I have to work with practically all the processes in production, so I can learn from my colleagues there, get to know them and the daily difficulties they face, as they work in a completely different environment than I do and have much more practical experience,” says Móni.
During the autumn, we had a visit from some ETC representatives, including Massimo Cialone, a senior chemical engineer whose main project this year is to coordinate developments in sustainable tire manufacturing. For the girls, Massimo’s decades of experience in the rubber industry are a great help in their work, and the approach he represents has already helped them to overcome many problems and obstacles. They are also doing their part in researching, developing and testing the possibilities of sustainable tire production. As they say, this is one of the biggest challenges facing the tire industry. In addition to natural materials, they are also experimenting with recycled and sustainably sourced materials. Their future plans include testing materials that have shown promising results in the laboratory on a commercial scale. They will then be used to make tires, which will also be tested on a test track. We are confident that this is in the near future.
