Sumitomo Opens New R and D Center in Europe

Sumitomo Rubber Europe G.m.b.H. and Dunlop Tech G.m.b.H. have opened a new European Development Center in Hanau-Steinheim, Germany. The center has been set up with facilities for development of tires and their testing, production of liquid latex and for the design of tire pressure monitoring systems.

The facility covers an area of 322,000 square feet and is housed in a historical building in the Steinheim district of Hanau which has been restored. The new facility is expected to allow the subsidiaries of Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI) subsidiaries to expedite the speed and efficiency of their research and development operations, according to a statement that was given by Bernd Löwenhaupt, managing director of Sumitomo Rubber Europe.

SRI markets its tires in Europe under the Falken brand and ever since it sold the tire factories that Dunlop had in Europe to Goodyear in 2015, it has not had any facilities for research and development in Europe.

At the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new facility, Löwenhaupt said that the company’s new technical and chemical laboratories will provide Sumitomo with the opportunity for testing and analyzing tire compounds and tires in-house for the first time. They are also readily expandable.
Bernd Schuchhardt, managing director of Dunlop Tech, said having both Sumitomo and Dunlop under one roof would significantly simplify communication and focus expertise.

The building used for the facility was restored according to the norms for protection of heritage buildings and it was converted at a later stage into offices. The details of Sumitomo’s financial investment in the project were not disclosed.

Sumitomo Rubber Europe deals with the development and testing of Falken-brand tires for Europe as well as Dunlop brand tires sold in the Asian and Latin American markets.

Dunlop Tech specializes in the development, manufacturing and distribution of Sumitomo’s Instant Mobility System tire sealant as well as of software and applications of the Warnair tire-pressure-monitoring system.