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Mr. Takahiro Mabuchi, General Manager and Head of the Material Planning Department at the Material Research & Development Headquarters, Dr. Bernd Löwenhaupt, Managing Director, and Mr. Ryoji Kojima, General Manager, from Sumitomo Rubber Europe GmbH attended the award ceremony held on March 4. Mr. Mabuchi mentioned, “We have successfully developed the ACTIVE TREAD Technology with support from and in cooperation with universities, research institutions, and our partner suppliers. We focus on continuing to accelerate R&D activities to further enhance the ACTIVE TREAD Technology and combine it with our Performance Sustaining Technology. Through this, we provide our customers with safety and relief . Under Sumitomo’s management philosophy, we will strive to develop tires that deliver the future, which will bring joy and happiness to people.

At the award ceremony (From right, Mr. Mabuchi, Dr. Löwenhaupt, and Mr. Kojima)

■ Overview of the ACTIVE TREAD Technology

The ACTIVE TREAD succeeded in controlling the movement of polymers by incorporating two “switches,” which respond to changes in road surface conditions, in the rubber. In the first switch, or a “water switch,” we replaced part of the covalent bonds between polymers in the rubber with ionic bonds, which can be dissociated with water. Coming in contact with water turns on the water switch, which makes the rubber surface softer and improves grip performance on a wet road surface. In addition, in the second switch, or a “temperature switch,” we developed a material with the concept that hydrophilic portions and hydrophobic portions are combined at low temperatures while they are separated from each other at high temperatures. Turning on this temperature switch allows the material to become softer at low temperatures and achieve a soft grip even on an icy road surface, which are properties opposite from those of conventional materials.

Water switch makes the rubber surface softer

<Water switch> A technology capable of maintaining grip even on a wet road surface

Temperature switch makes the rubber surface softer at low temperatures

The Tire Technology Expo, which has been held in Europe since 2001, features technical presentations and exhibitions mainly on tire manufacture. In the Expo, tire manufacturers, material manufacturers, public research institutions, and other organizations present their research findings, and awards are presented to outstanding technologies in 10 categories.^*1

We won the award at the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence two years in a row, and this year’s award brings the total number of awards received to date to eight. We previously won in 2010 for  our “Fourth-Generation Run-Flat Tire Technology,” in 2017 for our “ADVANCED 4D NANO DESIGN New Materials Development Technology,” in 2019 for our “SENSING CORE Technology,” in 2022 for our “Performance Sustaining Technology,” in 2023 for our “The Synthesized Biopolymers Project” and “Invention of a New Enzyme Evaluation Technique,” and in 2024 for our “Use of Hydrogen Energy and Solar Power for Tire Production.” ^*2

We unveiled our own unique Circular Economy Concept for the Tire Industry, which we call TOWANOWA*3, in March 2023. TOWANOWA features a two-ring structure, with a “Sustainable Ring” consisting of five processes in the value chain and a “Data Ring” linking big data collected from each process. We aim to provide new value by sharing / using data between the two rings. By using data obtained from the development of the ACTIVE TREAD Technology in the Material Development & Procurement process of TOWANOWA, we promote the development of more sophisticated, higher-quality tires. Through TOWANOWA, the Sumitomo Rubber Group will further accelerate our efforts to promote and practice ESG Management, and contribute to the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 and the development of a sustainable society.

      ※1 Environmental Achievement of the Year – Tire Design, Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing, Environmental Achievement of the Year – Industry Contribution, Materials Innovation of the Year, R&D Breakthrough of the Year, Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year, Tire Industry Supplier of the Year, Tire Concept of the Year, Tire of the Year, Tire Manufacturer of the Year
※2　We won in the category of Tire Technology of the Year in 2010, 2017, 2019, and 2022; in the categories of Materials Innovation of the Year and R&D Breakthrough of the Year in 2023; and in the category of Environmental Achievement of the year in 2024.
※3   Introducing a Circular Economy Concept for the Tire Industry: TOWANOWA | Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.

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■ Website of the Tire Technology Expo 2025