Cliff Hodges has been appointed technical director of the Smithers Tire & Wheel Test Center in Ravenna, Ohio. He will be responsible for the technical and quality requirements for the Smithers force and moment testing, tire modeling and other special tire characterizations and evaluation methods, as well as managing and advising team members and technical decision making.
Before joining Smithers, Hodges most recently served as a technical specialist at the Global Center for Automotive Performance Simulation (GCAPS) in the USA. He has also held roles in management and test engineering. Hodges earned his bachelor of science from Averett University and has authored papers on tire model selection, vehicle dynamics and indoor wet traction.
Matt Kent, general manager, Smithers Tire & Wheel Test Center, said, “Cliff has hands-on technical engineering experience as well as strong business acumen. His unique blend of technical and leadership experience will be a tremendous asset as we continuously strive to expand and enhance our service offerings to support our valued clients in the tire and wheel industry.”