Prometeon Tyre Group opened its largest research and development centre (R&D), with an investment of $15 million, located in Kocaeli, Turkey.

The new R&D centre will contribute to developing new tyre technologies able to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Coupled with these, the newly opened centre will also focus on achieving the same production levels with lower energy costs through leaner processes and reducing fuel consumption by decreasing the rolling resistance of products.

The opening ceremony was held in the presence of Mustafa Varank, Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey. Representing Prometeon were Roberto Righi, Deputy General Manager of Prometeon Tyre Group, Alexandre Bregantim, Global CTO (Chief Technical Officer) of Prometeon Tyre Group, Lale Cander, Chairwoman of Prometeon Turkey, and the entire management team of Prometeon Turkey.

Prometeon's R&D Centre is located at the Kocaeli plant, which was built in 1960 as the first tyre factory in Turkey. With this investment, the R&D team in Turkey will grow to 30 engineers, while the number of prototypes and patents developed at the R&D Centre will also increase, said the company.

Alexandre Bregantim, Global CTO of Prometeon Tyre Group, commented: "Today, we inaugurated yet another remarkable milestone in the Prometeon Tyre Group's successful path. Over the last three years, we implemented several strategic initiatives that made Prometeon healthier, stronger and more resilient in an unprecedented scenario. Strategic interventions at every stage of the company's value chain, a very strong focus on sustainability and human resources have allowed our company to promptly and effectively tackle the pandemic, both financially and commercially.

The new R&D Center fits into this strategy and will allow us to achieve our goals, improving our offering of both products and customer services, consolidating our partnerships with OEMs and further raising our quality and efficiency standards".

Prometeon Tyre Group owns three R&D Centres worldwide: in addition to the Turkish one, there are also those located in Italy and Brazil. The Group also boasts a Development Centre in Egypt.