Nexen to Open Winter Tire Testing Center in Finland

Nexen Tire has announced that it will expand its research and development capabilities and open a specialized winter tire testing center at the UTAC test site in Ivalo, Finland, located about 300 km beyond the Arctic Circle.

"Winter tires must perform reliably on snow and ice, whose slipperiness can be up to eight times higher compared to asphalt, and to counteract the natural properties of rubber, which hardens at low temperatures, special compounds are needed," the company noted. "All these requirements can only be met through comprehensive testing in extreme winter conditions, and the creation of a new testing center will be an important step towards achieving this goal."

The construction and management of the new complex, which will include snow and ice test tracks, will be handled by UTAC, with full operation scheduled to begin in December 2025. The center will, in particular, conduct tests necessary for winter tires to receive the 3PMSF (three-peak mountain snowflake) marking.

Nexen currently also has winter tire testing centers in Taeback (South Korea) and Wanaka (New Zealand), conducting tests throughout the year in various winter conditions, and the technologies developed in this way have helped to homologate the Nexen Winguard Sport 2 model for equipping cars from premium brands such as Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen.

Since July last year, as part of Nexen's tire testing, a driving simulator has been used, making it the first Korean tire manufacturer to apply such equipment. Initially, the properties of rubber compounds and tread patterns are optimized in a virtual environment, after which real-world tests are conducted.

"The requirements for winter tires continue to grow, especially in Europe, and the opening of the new center will be of great importance for ensuring our technological competitiveness," Nexen said. "With the help of the new testing complex, we plan to reduce the development time of new products and further improve the efficiency of winter tires, as well as strengthen our position in the European market, which accounts for about 40% of the company's sales."

UTAC conducts some of the most authoritative independent winter tire tests in the industry, and in 2017, Hankook also announced the opening of its testing center called Technotrac at the Finnish site.