First Korean company to be awarded with Michelin’s Supplier Award
▷ Acknowledged for the high quality of petroleum resin and the establishment of an innovative and systematic global supply network
▷ Continued mutual cooperation for sustainable business management, such as addressing the tire labeling system
KOLON Industries (CEO Hee-Koo Jang) further solidifies its partnership with Michelin, the number 1 global tire maker, with its petroleum resin technology. KOLON Industries received the 2021 Michelin Supplier Award on September 27th for their superior quality of its petroleum resin and the innovative establishment of a systematic global supply network.
KOLON Industries supplies petroleum resin to Michelin, a key material required to produce tires. While petroleum resin mainly increases the grip power of the tire, it also has good miscibility with other materials such as rubber. KOLON Industries was recognized as a “trustworthy supplier that provides quality products at the right time,” and for not having any defects in the quality of the supplied products while also steadily presenting new technologies.
This award is expected to serve as an opportunity to deepen the partnership between the two companies in producing environmentally friendly products going forward. KOLON Industries has been part of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) since 2018 and has been collaborating with Michelin to develop bio-based materials. Furthermore, the companies have been cooperating for years to address the Tire Labeling System, which classifies the tires according to their energy efficiency and indicates the degree of eco-friendliness of each tire. The companies are also jointly responding to the global carbon neutrality goal.
The innovative petroleum resin supply network, which enabled KOLON Industries to react promptly against the impediments in global logistics caused by COVID19, was also praised by Michelin. KOLON Industries built a new logistics hub in Rotterdam, Netherlands early this year to facilitate direct delivery to European destinations. The company’s supply network maintained normal operations and continued to make timely deliveries despite the logistics crisis following the blockage of Suez Canal in March. Even when the winter storm in Texas, USA slammed the logistics network in February, KOLON Industries was able to operate its supply network and support stable production via the local Michelin factory.
Since 2011, Michelin has been awarding the Supplier Award biannually, based upon the quality of products and services, innovation, and CSR of its global partners. Within the industry, the recipient company of Michelin’s Supplier Award is deemed to possess proven global competitiveness in their respective area of business. This year, a total of 9 companies including KOLON Industries from various sectors such as IT and logistics received the award. Renowned companies such as Lanxess and Evonik, German specialty chemicals companies, and Solvay, a Belgian chemical company, had also won the Michelin Supplier Award previously.
Due to the spread of COVID19, the head office of Michelin in France hosted the award ceremony via video on September 22nd, with the awards being handed out by the regional offices in Europe, Asia and North America at the same time. During the ceremony, Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin, remarked that “KOLON Industries of Korea displayed astonishing performance in innovation, sustainability and quality. We hope to maintain this important partnership for sustainable business management backed by the technological excellence with zero quality issues.”
Tae-Jun Park, Vice President in charge of the petroleum resin business, commented that “KOLON Industries is the first-ever petroleum resin supplier and the first-ever Korean company to receive Michelin’s Supplier Award. We will continue to build our name as a global company with expertise in materials based upon our top-tier quality and technology.”
KOLON Industries built another cutting-edge production facility that handles 15,000 tons of petroleum resin in Yeosu, Jeonnam Province, in June 2021. It is now the second largest petroleum resin producer in the world with the production capacity of 200,000 tons per annum.
* Petroleum resin
Petroleum resin (hydrocarbon resin) is a type of synthetic resin, used for similar purpose as the tackifier or the adhesive agent, e.g. rosin. It is usually mixed with adhesives, ink, paint, rubber and other substances to enhance the tackiness (a property that allows the material to repeatedly stick and unstick) and the adhesiveness (a property that binds two or more substances together and resists their separation).
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