Hankook Tire has had three of its commercial fleet tires certified for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) SmartWay Program, meeting the program's requirement to reduce rolling resistance by 3%.

The recently launched AL07+ steer tire, Z35a drive tire and TL01 trailer tire have all been proven to provide lower rolling resistance to meet SmartWay standards, which are designed to promote cleaner, more efficient truck technologies, according to Hankook.

"Diminishing the carbon footprint, improving fuel economy and reducing costs are the key areas of focus for the commercial fleet industry currently," said Brian Sheehey, commercial tires director, Hankook Tire America. "This is a true validation of Hankook's innovative technology, product and performance."

"Hankook consistently invests approximately 5% of revenue into technological innovation," added Sheehey. "We are particularly focused on improving fuel efficiencies and lowering the rolling resistance of current and future products. We definitely plan to get additional Hankook products certified for the SmartWay Program over the next several months."

The EPA launched SmartWay in early 2004 to address the environmental and economic challenges surrounding growth in the freight industry. Through SmartWay, EPA is now working with more than 1,000 businesses to improve both their bottom line and the environment.