European Rubber Journal articles from December 2002

European Rubber Journal archives from December 2002

Polimeri Europa selling elastomers business: at least five bidders may be interested in the former Enichem elastomer business, the second-largest in Europe. (Processor news).
December 1, 2002... There could have been at least five envelopes in the Polimeri Europa SpA postbox on 18 Nov--the deadline for written expressions of interest in the firm's elastomers business, recently put up for sale. Asahi Chemicals, Atofina, Dexco...

Pillows unit sold as Dunlopillo refocusses: British bedding maker decides to focus on latex foam manufacture. (Processor news).(Dunlopillo Holdings Ltd sells consumer division to Hilding Anders)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Dunlopillo Holdings Ltd has sold its consumer division, which primarily makes pillows, to Swedish bed and bedding supplier Hilding Anders. The deal is designed to refocus the Harrogate, UK-based latex foamer on its core business, while...

Chinese silanes unit opened.(Lehmann & Voss & Co., Nanjing Shuguang Chemical General Factory open joint venture plant)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Nanjing, China--Lehmann & Voss & Co. of Hamburg, Germany, and Nanjing Shuguang Chemical General Factory of Nanjing, the People's Republic of China opened their joint venture plant in Nanjing on 30 Oct. The plant will make Luvocoup brand...

Pirelli to shut six energy, telecoms cables units: poor results in the telecoms business trigger re-think in Pirelli's cables division. (Processor news).
December 1, 2002... Following a, "continuing unprecedented crisis" in the telecoms business, Pirelli SpA is to close six cable plants--three each in energy and telecoms cables--and transfer production to lower-cost facilities. Some 2400 jobs will he cut, 200 of...

Goodyear to make aircon hose at Kranj plant: automotive air-conditioning hose is added to Slovenian plant's existing products--belting and airsprings. (Processor news).(Goodyear Engineered Products)
December 1, 2002... Goodyear Engineered Products is adding production of automotive air-conditioning hose to its plant at Kranj in Slovenia, with the aim of rapidly expanding its presence in the European automotive hose market. The new production line at...

Goodyear to build Mexican automotive hose facility.(Goodyear Engineered Products )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Akron, Ohio--Goodyear Engineered Products has plans to build an automotive rubber hose plant in northern Mexico to strengthen its market position and better serve the automotive industry, a company release said. Construction of the...

Federal-Mogul's wiper blades going global: instead of selling its European wiper business, Federal-Mogul now intends to make it part of a global unit. (Processor news).
December 1, 2002... Federal-Mogul Corp. is to retain and grow its European windscreen wiper blade and spark plug businesses--operations it was considering selling earlier in the year. Southfield, Michigan-based Federal-Mogul announced 1 Nov that, "it will...

GDX closing German plant, cutting back at HQ: losses at GenCorp subsidiary lead to re-examination of costs and facilities of auto profiles maker. (Processor news).(GDX Automotive )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Automotive profiles maker GDX Automotive is planning to close a German extrusion plant and reduce the size of its headquarters organisation, as part of moves to improve the unit's cost structure. GDX Automotive had third-quarter operating...

Rumaguma spoken for, but no takers for Vulkan: Serbian tyre maker may end up under US ownership, but buyers snub processing firm. (Tyre news).(Rumaguma AD bought by Galaxy Tire; Vulkan AD did not attract bidder)
December 1, 2002... Galaxy Tire of the US is set to acquire a controlling interest in Serbian tyre maker Rumaguma AD, under Serbia's privatisation programme. Another rubber processor, Vulkan AD failed to attract a bidder and is likely to be restructured, according...

Dutch firm launches tyre monitor.(Royal Philips Electronics NV launches tire-pressure monitor)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] San Jose, California--Royal Philips Electronics NV, a Netherlands based company, is marketing a direct tyre-pressure monitor based on radio-frequency technology. Philips' signal conditioning chips, mounted directly onto the tyre rim,...

Pirelli to market SmarTire system.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Richmond, British Columbia--Pirelli SpA has agreed to sell a version of SmarTire Systems' tyre pressure/temperature monitoring system to aftermarket customers in Europe. Pirelli's version, which can be used on car, truck and motorcycle...

Cheng Shin to build tyre plant in Thailand: Taiwanese tyre maker plans to invest $50 million in Thailand for car and light truck tyres. (Tyre news).(Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. Ltd)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. Ltd plans to build a $50-million tyre plant near Bangkok, Thailand. Production of passenger a and light truck radials is to begin in late 2004. Cheng Shin, which does business in North America as Maxxis...

Michelin to reopen Algerian plant.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Clermont-Ferrand, France--Groupe Michelin said it expects to restart tyre production at the d'Hussein Dey plant in Algiers, in the near future. The factory will employ 500 in the manufacture of truck tyres for the domestic market and...

Commission clears CVC's purchase of Kwik-Fit tyre chain.(European Commission)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Brussels--The European Commission has cleared CVC Group to acquire UK automotive repair chain Kwik-Fit from Ford Motor Co. The deal creates no competition concerns as there are no significant overlaps between Kwik-Fit and companies owned by...

Cheng Shin gives third order to BMH Chronos Richardson.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Nottingham, UK--Taiwanese tyre maker Cheng Shin Co. Ltd has given UK supplier of materials-handling equipment BMH Chronos Richardson an order worth just over 1 million [pounds sterling] ($1.5 million) for equipment for a new tyre factory....

Interplas show highlights UK rubber firms: LVS Rubber Mouldings and DJ Profiles buck the trend at UK plastics show. (Processor news).(Company Profile)
December 1, 2002... Interplas spotlighted two of an increasingly rare breed of rubber processor, distinguished by an ability to make progress in difficult trading conditions, as well as by their presence as exhibitors at the UK show. LVS Rubber Mouldings...

Visitors down.(Interplas event draws fewer visitors)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Interplas 2002 attracted 17 441 visitors, according to certified figures for the event held 30 Sept to 4 Oct in Birmingham, UK. The attendance was 33 percent less than for the preceding event in 1999, and about half that of the 1996 event. The...

Federal-Mogul expanding in Japan to grow sales: sales office in Yokohama is the first step towards $500 million sales target. (Processor news).
December 1, 2002... Federal-Mogul Corp. plans to raise its sales to Asian customers by at least $500 million by 2010 and is expanding its Japanese facilities to achieve this aim. It already has an office in Yokohama, and will set up a technical centre in the city,...

Phoenix's profiles unit to move to Thuringen: German rubber goods maker is moving production to lower-cost regions. (Processor news).(Company Profile)
December 1, 2002... Restructuring is on the cards at German rubber processor Phoenix AG, following results for the first three quarters of 2002 in which its consolidated revenues rose 2.3 percent over the same period of 2001, to 851.4 million [euro] ($854...

BSFS launches suspension system.(Bridgestone/Firestone Vehicle Systems)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Nashville, Tennessee--Bridgestone/Firestone Vehicle Systems, a unit of BFS Diversified Products IIc, will produce a new aftermarket suspension called Praxis-brand Advanced Suspensions system, the firm announced 5 Nov at the SEMA show in Las...

Ford awards Pirelli first OE pacts in NA: P6 Four Season gains OE approval on Ford's Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town car. (Tyre news).(Pirelli Tire North America Inc. gets original equipment contract)
December 1, 2002... Pirelli Tire North America Inc. has finally landed the original equipment contracts in North America it has sought for so long. Fourteen years after first saying it wanted to be an OE supplier in North America, the US division of Italian...

Conti's earnings rise despite US problems: despite US losses, German tyre maker reports good progress. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank sold its stake in Conti for 140 million [euro]. (Tyre news).(Continental AG)
December 1, 2002... Continental AG expects earnings for 2002 to be considerably above the 2001 level and is also forecasting a slight rise in sales for the final quarter, following strong third quarter results. The Hanover-based group said its Continental...

Bank sells stake.(Deutsche Bank sells stake in Continental)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Deutsche Bank has sold its 7.5 per cent stake in Continental. Some 10.1 million shares valued at about 140 million [euro] were placed with institutional investors, said a bank statement. The sale was heavily oversubscribed, according to the...

ERJ's machinery survey now online.
December 1, 2002... [] London--European Rubber Journal will publish its annual machinery survey in March 2003. We want to include information from all makers of machinery used in the rubber industry. If you make such equipment, you can now fill in the survey...

Michelin sticks to its targets for margins: Michelin down-plays raw material price rises. (Tyre news).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Despite a fall in third quarter sales, Groupe Michelin insists that it is on target to achieve operating margins of 7.0-7.4 percent for 2002. Market conditions have been difficult but were in line with forecasts, said Michelin. Michelin...

US medals for two UK rubber experts.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Akron, Ohio--Two UK scientists have been honoured by the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society. Dr Graham Lake, a visiting professor at the University of East London, gets the prestigious Charles Goodyear Medal for 2003. ...

Goodyear Europe gains but US margins slump: tough times in the US tyre industry show up in Goodyear's third quarter results. (Tyre news).
December 1, 2002... Higher sales volumes and favourable exchange rates helped Goodyear's tyre business to restored profitability in the European Union in third quarter 2002. The group's EU tyre business achieved margins of 3.6 percent in the three months to...

Michelin buys software to speed machine design: Michelin to buy around 1000 licences for SolidWorks CAD system to design process equipment. (Tyre news).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Groupe Michelin has signed a deal with a US-based software firm SolidWorks Corp., part of Dassault Systemes SA, in a bid to enhance its capabilities in design of tyre machinery. The tyre group is to buy around 1000 licenses related to...

UK firm supplies BSFS in Latin America.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Nottingham, UK--Materials handling equipment maker BMH Chronos Richardson has gained a major order to supply materials handling equipment to a Bridgestone Firestone tyre production plant in South America. The order involves systems for...

Unions target tyre firms for global deals.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Sao Paulo, Brazil--Workers at three of the world's largest tyre makers are seeking to form global union networks, according to ICEM (the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions). Union officials...

Still `a lot to discover' in carbon black field. (Supplier news).(new carbon science sheds light )(Industry Overview)
December 1, 2002... With forms as diverse as diamond, graphite and carbon black, containing fullerenes, nano-tubules and more, the world of carbon gets more fascinating by the minute. A renaissance in carbon science seems to be happening, stimulated by the greater...

Asian silicones market spurs investment: two Tokyo-based companies invest millions in silicone raw materials and finishing capacity. (Rubber news).(GE Toshiba Silicones, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd)
December 1, 2002... GE Toshiba Silicones and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd, both based in Tokyo, are investing to increase their already strong position in the Asia Pacific silicones market. GE Toshiba--a joint venture between General Electric and Toshiba...

Tyre cord sales up, bead wire down at Bekaert; sales of steelcord improved, while lower-spec beadwire was down at leading tyre cord manufacturer. (Rubber news).(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
December 1, 2002... Sales for wire at Belgian supplier Bekaert SA rose during the first nine months of 2002. All Bekaert's global businesses achieved higher sales than in the same period of 2001, the firm said in a third quarter trading update. Continued...

Reliance to make more butadiene.(Reliance Group of India)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Karachi -- The Reliance Group of India, which has recently acquired Indian Petrochemicals Corp. Ltd (IPCI) has decided to focus on butadiene rubber and its derivatives, Reliance is considering doubling the capacity of IPCL's butadiene rubber...

Dow, Metso in paper tie-up.(Dow Chemical Co., Metso Paper Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Midland, Michigan -- The Emulsion Polymers business unit of Dow Chemical Co and Metso Paper Inc., a division of Metso Corp., are to jointly develop and market a new process for paper- and board-coating. Dow will develop the coating...

DEC to shutter Texas plant.(Degussa Engineered Carbons)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Parsippany, New Jersey -- Degussa Engineered Carbons will stop production of all rubber blacks at its Baytown, Texas, plant by 31 Dec and pigment black production by the first quarter of 2003, eliminating about 65 jobs. The firm cited slow...

Farrel to maintain edge with Skinner purchase; Skinner Engine finally falls to US-based Farrel for $650 000, after international bidding skirmish. (Rubber news).(company to acquire technology and assets of Skinner Engine Co. )
December 1, 2002... Rubber machinery maker Farrel Corp. is to purchase mixer technology and other assets of bankrupt Skinner Engine Co. for $650 000, according to Alberto Shaio, Farrel senior vice president of sales and marketing. The deal will bolster the...

Italians focus on continuous mixing: Assogomma audience hears about progress in continuous mixing. (Rubber news).(technical meeting features discussion of company's new technology)
December 1, 2002... A technical meeting on continuous mixing in Milan, 19-20 Sept, organised by Assogoma, the Italian rubber industry association, attracted an audience of 65 technical people from nearly 50 rubber companies. Assogomma aimed to update its...

Bayer 3-track approach to revamp rubber assets: restructure of German group's rubber business reflects varying technical requirements in the market. (Rubber news).(Company Profile)
December 1, 2002... From 1 Jan 2003, Bayer AG's rubber business will be merged with the group's plastics, polyurethanes and coatings units to form Bayer Polymers AG. The new subsidiary will have annual sales of around 11 000 million [euro]--about 20 percent from...

NR prices to soar.(natural rubber )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] London -- Despite slowing consumption of natural rubber in the key market areas, notably China, the Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that NR prices will end the year 16.4 percent higher than in 2001. The year-on-year increase will...

Rubber consortium starts as prices sag.(International Rubber Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... [] Bangkok -- The International Rubber Co. Ltd. a joint venture consortium between Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to support natural rubber prices on the world market, is scheduled to start business 15 Nov, according to Thai officials. ...

DuPont Dow introduces high Mooney EPDM types: gas-phase process used for EPDM grades which can be highly filled. (Rubber news).(Ethylene-Propylene-Diene-Monomer)
December 1, 2002... DuPont Dow Elastomers is introducing a grade of non-oil extended EPDM with high Mooney viscosity. Torkel Rhenman, DDE's global business director for EPDM products said existing high Mooney grades are all oil-extended at the manufacturing stage,...

Desma tech centre vital in optimisation and training. (Injection moulding).(Klockner Desma Elastomertechnik GmbH)
December 1, 2002... Rubber injection moulding machinery supplier Desma has opened a 2.2 million [euro] technical centre at its headquarters in Fridingen, Germany. It will be used for demonstrations, optimisation, trials and training, and will prove increasingly...

Standardising injection machines at Vibracoustic. (Injection moulding).
December 1, 2002... When rubber part maker Vibracoustic, a Phoenix/Freudenberg joint venture, was set up, it rapidly realised the benefits of standardising its rubber-to-metal part manufacture, said Werner Mutterer. The resulting flexibility has played a part...

High voltage silicone parts. (Injection moulding).(electrical apparatus housing created on Desma machine)
December 1, 2002... Dr Jens Lambrecht of Dow Corning's European Technical Centre in Wiesbaden, Germany, described the use of liquid and solid silicone rubber materials in insulating components. In high-voltage insulators, silicone offers: nearly unlimited life...

New control is PC-based. (Injection moulding).(injection molding machine control systems from Desma)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Desma has new control systems for injection moulding machines, based on PC components. The firm wanted to offer users increased efficiency and a system designed to cope with technical progress in automation. PC-based control is a real...

Conti signs Russian tyre deal: as Continental signs its long-awaited joint-venture with the Moscow Tire factory, ERJ examines the state of the Russian market and how the Moscow plant fits into Conti's strategy. (Tyres in Russia).
December 1, 2002... On 16 Oct, Continental AG finally signed an agreement with the Moscow city authorities, giving it control of a tyre plant in the city. The deal gives Conti a 76 percent stake in a new joint venture company, which will build a car tyre plant in...

Retailing-Russian style. (Tyres in Russia).
December 1, 2002... ERJ visited two tyre retail outlets while in Moscow. Both had queues outside and both could sell as many tyres as they could lay their hands on, but there the similarity ended. The retail shop affiliated to the Moscow Tyre Factory is...

Tyre makers accept EPR: tyre companies have accepted the principle of extended producer responsibility. They are taking responsibility for tyres which have been scrapped. (End of life tyres).
December 1, 2002... Europe's tyre makers have agreed that they should take responsibility for their products, once they have reached the end of their useful lives. The agreement is being put into practice across the European region, with a couple of significant...

BLIC's tyre disposal data. (End of life tyres).(discussion of trends in end-of-life-tires)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The EC Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) which forbids landfill of shredded end of life tyres is to be implemented at the latest by July 2006 in all European Community countries--including accession members such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2002... In the September issue of ERJ, we printed a long report on scrap tyres, in which we misquoted Valerie Schulman, director of the European Tyre Recyclers' Association. We described a number of applications and then quoted her saying, "All these...

New data from BLIC.(use tires analysis data from Bureau de Liaison des Industries du Caoutchouc )(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... The data in the table (below) is from BLIC, the Bureau de Liaison des Industries du Caoutchouc, and the commentary (left) was written by Fazilet Cinaralp, secretary-general of BLIC Use tyres analysis in 2001 in the enlarged Europe ...

Diary.(Calendar)
December 1, 2002... Readers are strongly advised to confirm details with organisers before making any travel arrangements. An updated list of industry events is available on the ERJ website at http://www.crain.co.uk/ NOVEMBER * changed dates--Equiplast...

Global standardisation. (postscript).(testing, quality control in the rubber industry)
December 1, 2002... The rubber industry is at the same time shrinking and expanding. The number of companies involved in the sector has shrunk dramatically over the last decade or so, through closures, acquisitions and mergers. Many famous names have been absorbed...

GTR goes virtual.
December 1, 2002... This issue of the Global Tyre Report is the bare bones of the statistical data Which we provide every year. As a service to readers, we are this year creating a `Virtual Tyre Report' using articles which have appeared over the last year in...

Global tyre industry consolidates: lower demand for tyres in Europe and the US has led to a spate of consolidation among the top tyre makers. Continental and Michelin have taken the opportunity to close unproductive and inefficient plants, while overall capital spending within the industry is lower than a year ago. Despite this, the announcements of new capacity add up to more than the total amount of capacity shut down. (Global Tyre Report).
December 1, 2002... The world's tyre makers have been consolidating. With the tyre industry facing a slowdown since the middle of 2001, the leading tyre makers have been taking the opportunity to cut out excess production. This has resulted in the closure of...

Global Tyre Report.(Top global tyre producers 2000-2001)(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... Top global tyre producers 2000-2001 RANK Company 2001 '00 Headquarters 1 2 Groupe Michelin Clermont-Ferrand, France (#1,2) 2 1 Bridgestone Corp. (#) Tokyo, Japan 3 3 Goodyear Tire & Rubber...

Market shares in US and Canada. (Global Tyre Report).(2001)(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... MARKET SHARES: 2001 Replacement Market Med/Heavy Truck Tyres (N America) 2000 2000 2001 shipments trend ...

Technology exchange.(various companies)(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... BRIDGESTONE CORP (Japan) Bridgestone subsidiaries [section] in Australia, Indonesia, Poland, Taiwan, and Thailand Bridgestone/Associated Cement JV, Kheda/Madhya, India [section] Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. Nashville,...

Tyre makers' expansion plans exceed $1 billion: while the tyre industry has taken out capacity for almost 100 000 tyres per day over the last year, they have simultaneously announced plans to add more than that daily volume of tyres in the coming years. (Investments).
December 1, 2002... Tyre makers globally committed more than $1600 million in the past 12 months to specific capacity expansions and plant modernisations, a dramatic jump from the few hundred million dollars budgeted last year but on par with the amount budgeted...

Global tyre plants 2001 data.(employees, tyre types, capacity)(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... The following tables list tyre-making facilities throughout the world. Plant information shows: the year a factory opened; whether some of the workers are represented in a union *; the number of employees at the facility; the types of...

Tyre plants by manufacturer: this chart should be read in conjunction with the foregoing tables. Where a tyre company has manufacturing facilities in more than two countries, we list the locations of all the plants. In addition, the table shows where each of the main manufacturers has its plants. (Plant cross-reference).(Illustration)
December 1, 2002... Bridgestone Africa Brits, South Africa Port Elizabeth, South Africa Asia Shenyang, China Tianjin, China Kheda, Pradesh, India Bekasi, Indonesia Karawang, Indonesia Amagi, Fukuoka, Japan Hikone, Shiga, Japan Hofu,...