European Rubber Journal articles from April 2000

European Rubber Journal archives from April 2000

Toyoda swoops for Eagle-Picher unit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2000... Japanese firm Toyoda Gosei acquires fuel hose capability in UK, US from Eagle Picher. Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd of Nagoya, Japan, has acquired the fluid systems business of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Eagle-Picher Industries Inc, for $20 million,...

TI division wins $95-million in new business.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... TI Group plc's recently formed speciality polymer products business has won new orders worth 60 million [pounds sterling] ($95 million) from automotive, industrial and aerospace customers, the company announced 2 Mar. Among the deals is a...

Gangways for Swedish trains.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... TI is already supplying its polymer gangway units with a rubber floor covering to Alstom for a new train linking Stockholm's international Arlanda airport with the city centre. The complex gangways supplied by Woodville, part of TI Group...

Lord buys Metal Gomma.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Lord Corp. of Cary, North Carolina, has completed the purchase of technical rubber products supplier Metal Gomma SpA of Monzambano, Italy for an undisclosed sum. Lord has been involved with Metal Gomma since 1993, starting with a strategic...

Parker buys Gummi-Metall.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Parker Hannifin Corp. has acquired Gummi-Metall Scheufele & Gienger GmbH, a German maker of rubber-metal and rubber-plastic sealing products, and custom moulder of elastomer components. With the deal, Gummi-Metall which has annual sales of...

Rubber industry news: ERJ newsbriefs.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... New name for ECC [] St Austell, UK--ECC International, based in St Austell, UK, has changed its name to Imerys. This organisation, which is a combination of ECC and Imetal, will offer the same mineral products as ECC. Imerys'...

Bridgestone completes new Japanese plant.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... New $95 million non-tyre plant for Bridgestone opens in Japan as Bridgestone Corp.'s results show flat sales, profits. Bridgestone Corp. marked the completion of a $95-million diversified products plant at Sagisaka, Iwata City in Shizouka...

Woco/Michelin in AVS venture.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Groupe Michelin and Woco Group are to formalise their existing partnership in antivibration systems by setting up a new company, Woco Michelin AVS. This unit, consisting of Woco AVS and its subsidiaries together with Michelin AVS, and its...

Puerto Rican trains get Metalastik mounts.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Heavy duty rail vehicles being built by Siemens Transportation Systems in the US for Puerto Rico's "Tren Urbano" have Metalastik chevron springs in the primary suspension. These robust rubber-metal laminated assemblies fit between the wheel...

Nokian to spend $36M to lift tyre output in 2000.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Extra capacity for high performance tyres will meet growing demand. Nokian Tyres plc is to invest ??36 million ($36 million) to increase its tyre production capacity by 10 percent during 2000, the company said in a 15 Feb results...

Kenya to get $2.5 million condom plant.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... German firm to build 100m u/y condom plant to supply domestic and export demands. Cologne, Germany-based condom manufacturer and retailer Condomi AG and Kenyan partner Olago Enterprises are to set up a $2.5 million condom plant in Nairobi,...

Pirelli tyre plant gets new drives.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... At Pirelli's UK tyre making plant in Carlisle, engineers have achieved substantial savings in maintenance costs by automating the powerhouse. New AC variable speed drives from ABB control pumps that supply steam, hot and cold water, vacuum and...

EniChem to up SR capacity in UK and Italy.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... S-SBR and EPR show strong growth, leading to capacity expansions. EniChem is to invest ??50 million ($50 million) in two elastomer capacity expansions. The Italian elastomer supplier will more than double its production capacity for...

Hercules in talks to sell resins division.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Unit which makes crosslinking agents and other chemicals may be sold. Hercules Inc. is holding talks with "an unnamed major company" over the sale its resins division, the Wilmington-based company announced 22 Feb. The company issued...

Supplier news: ERJ newsbriefs.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Rhodia and Raisio in paper latex JV [] Paris--Rhodia SA and Raisio Chemicals have signed a deal to create a 50/50 global joint-venture which, they claim, will be the world's second largest supplier of latex for the paper industry. ...

Forbo takes control of Chinese joint venture.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Forbo-Siegling belting unit in China now totally owned by European partner. Shenyang General Rubber Belt Factory has sold its 20 percent stake in the Forbo Siegling belting joint venture in Shenyang to its partner Siegling. Hannover,...

Rhodia and Degussa-Huls in silica plant deal.
April 1, 2000... Joint French/ German plant will give integrated silica/ silicones production. Degussa-Huls AG of Frankfurt is to build a fumed silica production plant on Rhodia SA's site at Roussillon, France, under an agreement announced by the two...

Industry news: ERJ newsbriefs.
April 1, 2000... CSRC buys Chinese carbon black firm [] Singapore--Taiwanese carbon black manufacturer China Synthetic Rubber Corp (CSRC) has bought Anhui Ma'anshan Carbon Black Co.'s 25 kilotonnes per year (ktpa) carbon black plant in Anhui, China, aiding...

Ten Cate seeks partner for globalisation.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Dutch maker of rollers for office machines seeks partner for global scale operations, following record results for 1999. Following record profits for 1999, Almelo, The Netherlands-based Royal Ten Cate, a maker of high-grade textiles and...

Trelleborg reports industrial advances.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Swedish rubber group's sales, earnings rise, as final approval for Invensys AVS group purchase awaited Trelleborg AB reported net sales for 1999 of SEK 23 345 million ($2747 million) down 6.8 percent on 1998, though its industrial sector,...

Michelin to acquire control in Japan.
April 1, 2000... Michelin becomes sole owner of its tyre joint venture in Japan. Michelin Japan Group now has complete control of its former joint venture, Michelin Okamoto Tire Corporation. The company was set up as a joint venture 11 years ago with local...

Cooper Avon sale marks truck tyre exit.
April 1, 2000... Cooper Avon to focus on high value core business in car, van, motor cycle and racing tyres as it puts truck tyre line up for sale. Cooper-Avon Tyres Ltd has put its radial truck tyre building line up for sale(*), marking the Melksham,...

Kumho tyre plant sale to fund debt relief.
April 1, 2000... Kumho will use $75m from Tianjin sale to bring debt ratio down to 1.9 from 2.4. Kumho Industrial Co. Ltd will use the proceeds from its recent Chinese tyre plant sale to Bridgestone Corp. to reduce its debt. A stabilised financial...

Semperit to buy Polish conveyor belt unit.
April 1, 2000... Semperit is buying conveyor belt maker Stomil Belchatow to extend its range into steelcord belting. It is already reaping the benefit of its 1998 purchase of Czech hose operation, Semperflex Optimit. Semperit AG's belting division...

Mannesmann to spin off engineering, auto units.
April 1, 2000... Vibration control unit Boge will be one of the units spun off by Mannesmann. German conglomerate Mannesmann AG will spin off its automotive and engineering businesses by summer, including vibration control products maker Boge GmbH. ...

North America leads Michelin sales rise.
April 1, 2000... Michelin's total sales rise to $13 500 million following US retail acquisition. Michelin Group achieved consolidated net sales of ??13 763 million ($13 561 million) for 1999, 10.2 percent higher than the equivalent 1998 figure, the company...

Tyre industry news: ERJ newsbriefs.
April 1, 2000... Krupp in profiles advance [] Hamburg, Germany--Krupp Elastomertechnik GmbH has developed a new low-cost extrusion head for vehicle tyre apex profiles, the company announced 8 Feb Apex profiles are made from one or two different rubber...

world news.
April 1, 2000... These reports have been taken from the various publications and newswires from around the world. Readers are warned that ERJ has not checked these stories, which might contain misleading or biased information Czech Republic: Mitas...

World SR demand to rise 3.4 percent in 2000.
April 1, 2000... Prospects good for SR consumption, except in Russia where demand continues to fall. Global synthetic rubber (SR) consumption will rise by 3.4 percent to 8.4 million tonnes in 2000, having increased by 1.5 percent in 1999, data issued 29...

Elastomer news: ERJ newsbriefs.
April 1, 2000... New board at Yule Catto [] Latex and speciality chemicals supplier Yule Catto will have a new board, led by new chairman Anthony Richmond-Watson, when Lord Catto steps down in May. Sean Cummins will replace Allister McLeish as finance...

DSM to cut EPDM grade range in global move.
April 1, 2000... Dramatic cut in number of grades offered by DSM Elastomers--but Gart Kostermann claims global grades will benefit customers. In a major reorganisation of its EPDM portfolio, DSM Elastomers (DSME) has revealed that it is "rationalising" a...

Supply and demand focus at EPDM meeting.
April 1, 2000... EPDM conference to look at where and how capacity is being increased to meet rising demand. Partnership in the EPDM supply chain and supply and demand balance in the EPDM business over the next decade will be central themes during the...

German workers' pact affords raises, new jobs.
April 1, 2000... New collective bargaining package agreed for rubber workers. Pay raises in the 3-percent range and job creation measures highlighted a new collective bargaining package for 30 000 German rubber workers ratified earlier this month. ...

whatever: ERJ newsbriefs.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Trade unions want Latina closure inquiry [] The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has asked EU Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou for an official inquiry into whether Goodyear obeyed EU Directives on collective...

Auto makers combine to form joint web site.
April 1, 2000... Ford, GM respond to supplier's demand by merging Auto-Xchange and Trade-Xchange. DaimlerChrysler, Renault-Nissan agree to join the same system, with possibility of most car makers joining the same web exchange. The big three US auto makers...

On-line auctions: the tyre-makers react.
April 1, 2000... Car makers have chosen rubber products as the test beds for their on-line exchanges. Ford chose three truck tyre contracts as the first on-line auction conducted on its Auto-Xchange site while GM selected sealing profiles for the first auction...

Building cars to order will put pressure on suppliers.
April 1, 2000... Car companies are already implementing plans to make cars according to a new business model. Similar to Michael Dell's approach to making computers, the car makers are striving to eliminate waste and speed up their responsiveness by making cars...

Learning to live lean.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Automotive suppliers still have a long way to go heft)re they achieve true lean manufacturing, but many have already made substantial cost savings in their manufacturing operations. Auto makers learned how to become leaner manufacturers...

Fuel systems go green.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2000... California is bringing in the world's strictest environmental legislation, forcing car makers to look carefully at emissions from the tailpipe, and also at hydrocarbon emissions from a car sitting with a full fuel tank, but the engine switched...

Runflats break into the mass market.(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2000... Michelin and Goodyear were promoting their runflat tyre technologies at the Geneva Motor Show. Both are expecting to see mass-market cars designed specifically to use four run-flat tyres launched around 2004, but in the transition period (2000...

Tenneco unveils elastomer-based system.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... A new independent rear suspension system, based on a simple tube and elastomeric spring elements, saves weight and reduces complexity, compared with metal springs. Tenneco Automotive Inc., working closely with DaimlerChrysler AG and...

Cars use low-rolling-resistance tyres.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2000... New high-mileage prototypes from DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. rely partly on experimental high-pressure, low-rolling-resistance tyres from Goodyear and Michelin to attain their 80-mpg targets (3.81/100km). ...

Auctions are nothing to be feared.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... In our January issue, we alerted readers to the fact that on-line auctions were coming. They are here already. I spent the last couple of days at the Geneva Auto Show, talking to the tyre companies about on-line auctions. The very first...