On March 30, Nexen Tire America announced it had manufactured more than 500 million tires without a single recall since 2000. 

The company has four manufacturing plants spread across the globe—two in the South Korean cities of Yangsan and Changnyeong, one in Qingdao, China, and its newest plant, which is located in Europe, in Zatech, Czech Republic.

At each facility, Nexen Tire has implemented precision tire-manufacturing guidelines, designed to ensure that each tire produced meets the company’s global manufacturing standards.

Given that Nexen produces more than 42 million tires annually for passenger vehicles including cars, crossovers, SUVs and pickups, as well as being an OE-equipment supplier for more than 20 automakers around the globe, producing more than 500 million tires without a single recall is no mean feat.

Quality design, engineering

A key part of this achievement comes down to an emphasis on design, quality and engineering, using the latest technology and stringent manufacturing standards.

Globally, each tire Nexen produces undergoes multiple phases of the manufacturing process and for the U.S. market, tires destined for wholesalers and retailers here are stored at one of three Nexen three regional distribution centres.

Nexen Tire says it has been able to streamline its tire manufacturing by using a highly sophisticated seven-step process. From mixing compounds to curing and everything in between, each Nexen tire is manufactured using the company’s state-of-the-art automated procedure.

According to Nexen, what sets it apart from other tire manufacturers is its testing process. On the last step of production, every tire is subjected to an additional five-step checklist before shipping to one of Nexen’s distribution centres

This testing includes:

• Visual test—Visual inspection of the tire’s interior, exterior and bead
• Weight Distribution—Tested using an ultrasonic beam to verify consistent weight distribution before wheel assembly
• Dynamic Balance Testing—measuring balancing and optimal air pressure after wheel assembly
• Uniformity Test—Ensuring the uniformity and rigidity of the size of the tire
• X-Ray—Verifies the inside of the tires and structure of belts are free of manufacturing defects and foreign materials

Nexen Tire currently operates three global tire technology centres that are equipped with rubber-testing labs and indoor test wheels capable of running both rolling resistance and high-speed uniformity simulations.

The company’s latest tire technology centre, which opened last year in Richfield, Ohio, has helped position Nexen Tire to ensure it continues to meet the strict production demands for North American OEMs.

Commitment to safety

“Nexen Tire is known globally for having some of the most stringent quality control standards in the tire industry, and we feel our milestone of 21 years with zero recalls is truly a testament to our commitment to safety,” said John Hagan, Executive Vice President of sales for Nexen Tire America.

“We plan to build on this incredible achievement with an aggressive growth plan to become a global top 10 tire manufacturer by 2025, and we are confident our proven manufacturing process will get us there.”

At present, Nexen Tire offers 23 different top-tier tire solutions for both OEM and aftermarket applications and the company recently added four new OEM applications to its 2021 portfolio.