Recent innovations include state-of-the-art Shanghai labs for faster customer testing
HANNOVER, Germany — Feb. 27, 2020 — Eastman was named Supplier of the Year at the 2020 Tire Technology Expo Awards for Innovation and Excellence on Feb. 26. “This validates Eastman’s devotion to our customers,” said Gunes Celik, vice president and general manager for tire additives, who accepted on behalf of the company. “We’re very proud of our commitment to the industry and our investments in people, technology, manufacturing and customer relationships.”
Selected by a panel of more than 30 leading industry professionals, the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence recognize the latest advances and developments from across the industry.
Eastman is one of the world’s largest producers of specialty chemicals and additives. It opened a new tire technology lab in 2019 in Shanghai, China, investing more than $2 million in testing capabilities to provide fast feedback to customers throughout Asia. The lab is equipped with analytical, rubber compounding, and rubber testing equipment and provides the same state-of-the-art service as Eastman’s world-renowned tire technology center in Akron, Ohio.
“These facilities, along with manufacturing centers in every region, help us stay close to the market and provide global security of supply,” Celik added. “They also ensure that our multidiscipline team maintains strong relationships with our partners and responds to their needs.”
In recent years, Eastman has provided breakthrough innovations like Crystex™ Cure Pro, the latest advance in insoluble sulfur, and has tripled the size of its Eastman Impera™ performance resins portfolio. The company has also undertaken substantial investments at its manufacturing sites around the world. In addition, Eastman has invested heavily in customer partnerships and launched new application development capabilities to support customer raw material handling, compound analysis and thermal diagnosis services for tire plants.
Eastman was a finalist for Tire Technology of the Year in 2018 and 2019.