In his new role, Han will look after the company’s strategic direction and operations in the US and Canada and will provide support to the headquarters in Seoul for the company’s North American original equipment sales and the US-based technical centre in Richfield, Ohio.

Han will also provide direction on the company’s short- and long-term goals regarding operational and sales strategies.

Han is taking up new responsibilities while the whole global economy and the manufacturing industry are recovering from the pandemic impact. Han said his immediate priorities are fully understanding the North American market and getting to know the company’s customers in the United States.

“One of my priorities is to ensure our dealers that the company is supporting them in the best possible ways to navigate through the pandemic and thrive well beyond. The pandemic has also affected overall supply chain stability, causing some shortages as we assess variances in supply and demand. We will be focused on stabilising these variances to ensure quality products are delivered to customers in the time frames they need,” Han said.

Before accepting his new role as CEO, Han was Nexen Tire Corporation’s Global Marketing Vice President.

COVID 19 spread has turned the tyre business upside down. Priorities of manufacturers and end consumers have changed. Nexen Tire America is closely working with its customers to understand the requirements and support their business. “Obviously, the pandemic has affected all of our businesses from manufacturer to distributor to retail base, and we aim to be a resource of tools to help us all come out of this past year stronger than ever,” said Han.

Due to the pandemic digitalisation has got a further boost, and the company is focusing on offering digital resources. “Consumers are attentive on digital solutions to adhere to social distancing recommendations,” Han pointed out.

Brand strengthening

Han also worked as the president of Nexen Tire Italia for 7.5 years after working at Nexen Tire’s global headquarters in Korea from 2005-2011. Han has spent a considerable time of his career in the developing market. Now in the developed market, where the Nexen Tire brand is relatively young, Han will have a larger task strengthening its brand. “The Nexen brand has had time to mature in many parts of the Asian market, and by that, I mean there is higher brand awareness and brand loyalty amongst our customers. Nexen Tire is still a young brand here in the States, so we still have many opportunities to build our brand strength in this market,” explained Han.

Not only with the homegrown brands, but Nexen Tire also has competition from the Asian tyre companies, which are aggressively expanding their business in North America. Han said the company would continue building on its current strategies and relationships with the company dealer network to increase its market share in North America.

Research and Development, and customised solutions to meet the local demand play an important role in gaining the local market share. Nexen Tire has already established a global R&D network headed by its main R&D centre in Yangsan, Korea, along with its R&D facilities in the U.S., China, and Germany to develop future-oriented innovative products.

“While we have a legacy of strong partnerships with our Korean based R&D teams, Nexen Tire America has also developed an R&D centre in Ohio to focus on American and Canadian market R&D initiatives. This will ensure we are focused on North American market needs and we are prepared to meet these demands,” said Han.

This year, Nexen Tire aims to launch new products which are currently under development. It plans to announce details at the 2021 SEMA show.

Dealers are an integral part of the tyre business. Dealers are quite vocal and active in the developed nations compared to the developing countries. Nexen Tire will focus on strengthening its relationship with its dealers. “We currently have very strong relationships with our dealer base and will continue to strengthen these bonds in the future. Our strategies include being an integral partner to their growth in the ways of marketing, sales, customer service and product innovation.”

New Mobility

Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric mobilities are going the course of the automotive and the tyre industry is no exception. Sensing the future trends, tyre companies are heavily investing from R&D to production and distribution to meet future mobility. Nexen Tire is currently and consistently analysing and researching potential opportunities in the EV space. “Electric cars and mobility services are the waves of the future, and Nexen strives to stay at the forefront of these trends,” said Han.

Last year in September, Nexen Tire announced it will supply tyres for a new model of the electric car maker Canoo, a US startup company.

Canoo plans to launch the world’s first subscription-based electric vehicle (EV) plans. Under its business model, Canoo will use a membership model to sell its EVs. The company unveiled its first EV model in 2019 and plans to launch it in 2022 commercially.

Nexen Tire will supply its Rodian GTX EV Tyre, an electric vehicle version of Nexen Tire’s all-season premium SUV tyre Roadian GTX which offers electric vehicles’ requirements as tyre safety, durability and low noise. “We are also researching technologies for smart tyres to ensure we meet market demands and the future of mobility,” said Han.

Nexen Tire has also formed a strategic partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest corporate innovation platform and startup accelerator, to pursue innovative collaborations in the tyre and mobility industries.

With this partnership, Nexen Tire will seek to partner with the next wave of the most promising technologies in the tyre and mobility industries. This should also enable Nexen Tire to realise its ‘open R&D’ philosophy, offering collaboration and partnerships, especially to firms in the tyre technology field, the company had said.

Talking on the challenges, Han thinks the challenges in business are relatively constant. He added that the Nexen Tire aims to ensure sales increase year over year in a very dynamic and changing environment, including tariffs, global pandemics, and oversupply. “We prepare ourselves for these obstacles and opportunities by remaining fluid and shifting with the market as it requires,” said Han.

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Hankook Tire concluded Round 2 of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Sweden, on 15 February in the Umeå region, where its Winter i*Pike SR10W tyre was put to the ultimate test. As the championship’s sole rally tyre supplier, Hankook equipped all competing crews with this dedicated winter tyre, which features specially engineered ice-rally stud pins. Designed to conquer the most severe icy environments, its asymmetric tread pattern works in tandem with the studs to provide exceptional grip, powerful braking and unwavering high-speed stability on frozen surfaces.

Rally Sweden, first held in 1950, is unique on the calendar as the only event contested entirely on snow and ice. Crews were challenged by 18 special stages covering around 300 kilometres, with competition intensified by speeds reaching up to 200 kmph and rapid temperature fluctuations. These punishing conditions demanded precise car control, reliable tyre traction and steadfast braking performance, making the choice of the Winter i*Pike SR10W critical for success.

Following a fierce contest, Toyota GAZOO Racing’s Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin claimed victory by a margin of 14.3 seconds, securing their second consecutive win in Sweden. Having also finished second in the season opener at Rallye Monte-Carlo, this result propelled the pairing to the top of the championship standings with 60 points.

The WRC now turns its attention to the formidable Safari Rally Kenya, scheduled for 12 to 15 March 2026 near Naivasha. This event is renowned as one of the most gruelling on the circuit, where crews must navigate extreme heat, mud from heavy rainfall and rapidly changing weather.

Hankook’s commitment to the sport extends beyond event supply. The company continues to refine its high-performance rally technology through intensive collaboration with the FIA and major automotive manufacturers, having completed over 2,000 kilometres of real-vehicle testing across eight countries. With its exclusive tyre supply agreement for all WRC classes covering the 2025 to 2027 seasons, Hankook is reinforcing its premium brand identity and solidifying its leadership in motorsport engineering.

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Ecolomondo Corporation, a leading Canadian innovator in sustainable scrap tyre recycling technology, has appointed Craft Capital Management, LLC as its strategic investment banking advisor. This partnership is designed to bolster Ecolomondo’s capital markets strategy, with a focus on financing initiatives and a planned uplisting to the NASDAQ. Securing this position is a key step for the company to obtain the necessary capital for its global expansion.

Eliot Sorella, Ecolomondo’s Executive Chairman, highlighted that Craft Capital’s successful history of providing capital solutions is well-aligned with the company's goal to scale up as a major supplier of recovered carbon black and tyre pyrolysis oil. These materials are produced using Ecolomondo’s proprietary Thermal Decomposition Process. As worldwide demand for circular and sustainable materials grows, this advisory engagement is seen as a vital move to advance the company's market position and support its next growth phase.

Craft Capital, a full-service brokerage firm with over a century of combined financial experience, offers customised investment banking services and connects clients to a broad network of family offices and institutional investors.

Sorella said, “Craft Capital’s proven track record in delivering capital solutions aligns strongly with our strategy to scale as a leading producer of recovered carbon black (rCB) and tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO) using Ecolomondo’s proprietary Thermal Decomposition Process (TDP). As global industries accelerate their transition towards circular and sustainable materials, this engagement is an important step in advancing our capital markets strategy and supporting our next phase of growth.”

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Continental is set to make a significant impact at the upcoming Tire Technology Expo in Hannover with a strong presence at the technical conference scheduled for 3 March 2026. The company will kick off the event with a major presentation centred on the evolution of tyre technologies designed to meet the demands of autonomous driving. Dr Andreas Topp, who leads Platform Development and Industrialisation for passenger car tyres at Continental, will illustrate how the vision of autonomous vehicles is transitioning into everyday reality and how the tyre manufacturer is proactively developing innovative solutions to support this shift.

In addition to the opening session, Continental experts will deliver three further presentations, each addressing critical areas of tyre science and environmental regulation. One of these will explore the use of recovered carbon black derived from end-of-life tyres as a filler material. Professor Jorge Lacayo-Pineda, a specialist in materials evaluation, will delve into the complexities of identifying this material within vulcanised rubber compounds. Recovered carbon black, primarily obtained through pyrolysis, represents a milestone as the first industrially scalable filler sourced from discarded tyres. It is not considered a direct substitute for conventional carbon black but rather a distinct category of filler due to its unique composition, which includes carbon residues and a specific thermal background. Professor Lacayo-Pineda will examine the technological and regulatory possibilities that arise from detecting this material in new tyre compounds, focusing on reliable identification techniques such as electron microscopy and molecular spectroscopy.

Another key presentation will broaden the conversation around tyre emissions. Dr Frank Schmerwitz, a senior test engineer specialising in tyre wear, will address the limitations of current discussions that predominantly focus on tyre and road wear particles. He will highlight additional pathways of mass loss that are not captured by conventional measurements. His talk will consider the release of nanoparticles, the persistence of wear residue on road surfaces and the chemical degradation of this material due to environmental factors like oxygen and ultraviolet light, aiming for a more complete scientific picture.

The final presentation will tackle the complexities of modern tyre development in the context of new regulatory frameworks. Dr Pavel Ignatyev, an expert in rubber friction and wear physics, will discuss how the introduction of standardised abrasion limits and measurement methods under the Euro 7 regulation is reshaping innovation in the industry. He will explain the various parameters influencing tyre wear and how they interact with these new requirements. Through simplified models, he intends to demonstrate the intricate nature of tyre wear and outline the collective challenges that remain for the industry, emphasising that a deep understanding of these dynamics is crucial for translating regulatory mandates into effective technological advancements.

Dr Topp said, “The future of self-driving vehicles has begun. We are developing tyre technologies and products that meet the unique technical requirements of these vehicles. This includes topics such as interaction with smart vehicle dynamic controls, optimised fleet operations and tailored solutions for specific use profiles.”

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The concluding day of 2026 F1 Pre-Season Testing at the Bahrain International Circuit saw Charles Leclerc set the overall fastest lap of the entire six-day programme. The Ferrari driver delivered a time of 1:31.992s on the C4 compound Pirelli tyres during the final hour of running, improving by eight-tenths of a second on the previous benchmark established by Kimi Antonelli. This performance placed him ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren, who recorded a 1:32.871s on the C3 tyre. Max Verstappen and George Russell followed, with times of 1:33.109s and 1:33.197s, respectively, both also set on the C3 compound. Notably, none surpassed Leclerc's own leading time on that particular compound, a 1:32.655s. Pierre Gasly rounded out the top times, utilising the softest C5 tyres to post a 1:33.421s.

The C5 compound saw limited use on the final day, employed only by Alpine and Williams for short-run simulations. Aston Martin, despite having the tyre available, opted not to run it and instead completed just six laps on C3s before their session was curtailed. In contrast, teams focused on different aspects of performance. Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvin Lindblad set the pace on the harder C1 and C2 compounds, respectively. The day was also notable for the absence of several drivers, including Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon, who did not participate in any track action.

Beyond outright speed, teams dedicated significant effort to long-distance evaluation. Gabriel Bortoleto completed 25 laps on the C2 compound for Audi, while Esteban Ocon undertook 24 laps on C1s for Haas. Ocon was also the sole driver to run intermediate tyres, completing four laps to assess front wing behaviour. Over the entire six-day test, a total of 41,366 kilometres were covered across all 11 teams, a distance exceeding the Earth's circumference. The C3 compound proved the most popular, accounting for 61 percent of all laps. In total, 591 sets of slick tyres were utilised throughout the pre-season, with 326 of those deployed in the final three days alone.

Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, said, “The radical changes introduced to the cars have inevitably shifted the teams’ focus towards power units and aerodynamics rather than tyres over the last few days. The final stages of testing are usually dedicated to optimising the car-tyre package, but it is clear some teams haven’t reached that point yet. Generally speaking, track feedback has been consistent with our simulation expectations. Drivers were able to gain confidence with the entire Pirelli range through both performance trials and long runs, even using the C4 and C5 compounds which aren’t particularly suited to a circuit like Sakhir.

“Mechanical resistance appeared strong across all options, with no signs of graining or blistering. Degradation levels are almost certainly higher now than what we expect for the Bahrain race, when temperatures will be lower and cars more developed. A central theme this season will certainly be balancing temperatures between the axles, especially ahead of the first race in Melbourne. The lower loads of a street circuit might require more intensive tyre preparation or differentiated tyre blanket temperatures, particularly in qualifying. In any case, it will be interesting to discover in Australia how much teams have been ‘sandbagging’ their engine power to avoid showing their hand. We only have to wait a couple of weeks to see the true pecking order.”

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