Kumho Tire Wins Red Dot Award for Five Years in a Row
Kumho Tire announced that two of its products have received the 2016 Red Dot Award in the product design category. With this year's win, Kumho has become the first Korean tire-maker to have been honored with the prestigious award for five consecutive years, a feat that proves its competitiveness in tire design.
Held by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany since 1955, the Red Dot Design Award honors winners in three categories of product, communication and concept. It is recognized as one of the world's top three design awards along with the International Forum Design (iF) of Germany and International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) of the Unites States.
Kumho's winning entries this time were the K-Silent Tire and Road Venture MT51.
The K-Silent Tire, which hit the market in June 2015, is equipped with a technology that reduces noise coming from air vibration in the tire, known as resonance noise, caused by the friction between the tire and the ground. Last year, Kumho became the first to develop the noise reduction technology, which is dubbed the K-silent system, and obtained a Korean patent for the design and materials of noise-absorbing components with more patent applications in the pipeline for the proprietary technology in other countries.
The Road Venture MT51 is a mud terrain tire capable of handling the harshest conditions while being just as comfortable on the road as off. The MT51's aggressive sidewall design prevents damage and enhances grip when in deep mud or rock climbing. It's full-depth, circumferential, zigzag grooves increase traction and help eject stones and mud while balancing on-road driving performance.
"The Red Dot Award is one of the world's largest venues for exchanges among those interested in industrial design. The receipt of the award for five consecutive years is yet another recognition of the competitiveness of our designs," said Jeong Taek-Gyun, Senior Managing Director at Kumho Tire R&D headquarter, "We will continue to build our capabilities in all areas of tire technology including design in order to enhance our brand image."