Hankook Tire held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for its new research and development center, the Hankook Technodome, at a construction site in Daejeon, Korea, a key part of its strategic R&D vision of becoming a global top-tier tire brand based on technological leadership.

A new high-tech R&D infrastructure will be established domestically with two main bodies: the Hankook Technodome in Daeduk Innopolis, Daejeon, and the Hankook Test Engineering Center in Sangju.

The Hankook Technodome, projected to be completed by 2016, will become an incubator for innovative new technologies, including for commercial truck tires. The Hankook Test Engineering Center is expected to be completed by 2018 and will serve as a hub for tire evaluation technologies.

With the new R&D infrastructure in place, the company will hire more researchers and engineers, growing from its current 700 researchers to about 1,000 at the Hankook Technodome. 

The Technodome will feature a high-tech, cutting-edge aesthetic and will integrate an array of sophisticated features intended to stimulate creativity and improve efficiency. Inside the main research building, 90 separate laboratories will enable a wide range of R&D activities to be carried out simultaneously.

It also will include eco-friendly features such as natural ventilation and lighting, resource recycling facilities and natural shades that reduce the dependency on the building’s cooling system.