Hankook at the “REIFEN” Trade Fair in Essen

• Appearance at the “Reifen” trade fair now for the tenth time in succession

• Great increase in brand awareness through extensive and continual marketing investments

• Line-up demonstrates quality, environmental-friendliness and forward-looking orientation

• OEM contracts and motor sport activities with premium car manufacturers demonstrate clearly enhanced brand reputation

• EU tyre labelling: initial information for the trade

Neu-Isenburg/Essen, Germany, May 22, 2012 – Premium manufacturer Hankook will be again at the REIFEN in Essen from June 5 to June 8, 2012, where the enterprise will present itself for the tenth time at the world’s leading tyre industry trade fair. Hankook plans to mark this tenth anniversary with a trade fair booth entirely in tune with its increased market presence. The modern and generously designed stand in Hall 3 (booth no. 128) has several highlights in store for its visitors. Besides new products and services for the trade, other exhibits on display will include the original Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 driven by Hankook Team HEICO Motorsport at the 24-hour Nürburgring race.

Hankook is working hard on building up sustained brand awareness with a stringent and targeted marketing strategy. And its success speaks for itself: Europe, what is probably the world’s most demanding automotive market in Germany, has established itself as the manufacturer’s foremost sales market with a share of 30 per cent, and long ago became the enterprise’s second home, not least thanks to its highly modern factory in Hungary. With a solid market position in Europe, Hankook is challenging the competition in the premium segment and continuously expanding its market share – against the industry trend.

Hankook is also bringing its current product range for car and truck tyres to Essen. The manufacturer’s top modern line-up again demonstrates quality, environmental friendliness and orientation towards the future. Developing tyres optimised in terms of consumption and CO₂ is traditionally a foremost concern for Hankook. Visitors to the Hankook stand will also be able to inspect various concept tyres which are ready for series production such as the Hankook Kinergy Eco EV for the field of electro-mobility.

Based on the pillars of technological excellence, high quality and performance, Hankook products have earned a name for themselves with consumers and manufacturers alike, especially in the premium tyre segment. This is demonstrated not only by the constant expansion of OEM business with premium German car makers like BMW, which now fits its MINI Cooper S and the BMW “1” and “3” series models among others in the factory with Hankook’s brand new Ventus S1 evo² high performance tyres.

Hankook is also celebrating success all the way in the DTM, probably the most popular international touring car series. In what is now the second year of Hankook’s commitment, drivers and teams of the premium manufacturers Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are again extremely satisfied with the newly developed tyre generation. Hankook is also no less happy with the results of its far-reaching sponsoring activities in top sports away from the racing circuits. The long-term commitment as Champion Partner to the German football champions of the past two seasons and this season's DFB Cup winners BVB Borussia Dortmund is of course another outstanding highlight here.

In addition to its new products and services for the trade, Hankook will also present an information programme at the trade fair to inform customers in detail about the pending EU tyre label for cars and commercial vehicles in advance of its introduction on November 1, 2012.

“Our enterprise is a firm component of the “Reifen” trade fair. We conceive our booth not only as a place to meet our long-standing regular customers, but also as a showcase for the entire market and the many visitors from all over the world,” explains Dietmar Olbrich, Sales Director for the German-speaking markets and traditionally Hankook’s host at the Essen trade fair. “The high quality of our products has been well known in the trade for many years. Since the last tyre trade fair two years ago, we have continued to invest strongly in the Hankook brand and our efforts have been amply rewarded with a good deal of positive feedback from our customers. Our next immediate aim is to tackle the services segment even more resolutely.”