European Rubber Journal articles from February 2000

European Rubber Journal archives from February 2000

Trelleborg to acquire BTR AVS unit for $250m.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Consolidation in antivibration systems heats up, as Trelleborg acquires the former BTR antivibration activities for about half the price expected by analysts Trelleborg AB has agreed to buy the BTR antivibration systems business of...

Czech group advances rubber business.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Ceska Gumarenska Spolecnost (CGS) of the Czech Republic is expanding the activities of its technical rubber business and has renamed the two firms within the division, a CGS spokesman has confirmed. Rubber firm Gumokov, based in Hradec...

Mixed fortunes at Phoenix.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Phoenix AG reports profits below expectations on slightly higher sales, and expects to move some jobs to lower cost countries. Hamburg-based Phoenix AG is anticipating a mixed set of results for 1999, as gains by its automotive business...

ContiTech takes control at Kuhner in air con deal.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Continental AG subsidiary ContiTech has entered a co-operative agreement with Behr GmbH & Co, the Stuttgart-based automotive air conditioning and engine cooling systems firm. Central to the deal is ContiTech's acquisition of a 51-percent...

ERJ newsbriefs.
February 1, 2000... Bayer raises prices for powdered NBR [] Bayer AG has increased the price of its acrylonitrile-butadiene powdered rubber (NBR) by ??0.10 ($0.10) per kilogram, from 1 Jan, 2000. Bayer's spray-dried powdered NBR, Baymod N XL 38.20, is used...

SKF aims for growth following reorganisation.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Swedish company is now almost global in coverage, and plans to offer complete range of sealing systems for the automotive sector. SKF AB is targeting strong growth for its global seals business just as it is finishing a reorganisation of...

Latex Foam Products aims pillow at UK market.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Latex Foam Products Inc. is attempting to crack the UK market with a fire-retardant latex pillow it introduced in November. The pillow is the result of more than a year's research by the latex product manufacturer, a spokeswoman said, and...

Rubber goes on-line.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... On-line trading zone for rubber raw materials set to be launched in April or May this year Kai Jacob is planing to take rubber ingredients on-line. He intends to set up an on-line market in commodity grades of rubber, carbon black, and...

More management moves at Hanna.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... In a new management shake-up, MA Hanna Co. has announced that Garth Henry, its executive vice president, worldwide plastics and international operations, is to focus exclusively on the firm's international organisation. Henry will be...

INRO to liquidate stock.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... The International Natural Rubber Organisation will dispose of its natural rubber buffer stock within 18 months, INRO delegates decided at a special council meeting to arrange the termination of the organisation. Buffer stock manager (BSM)...

Farrel axing up to 39 jobs at UK machinery plant.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Farrel Ltd announces more job cuts as "final" part of the restructuring following its 1998 acquisition of Francis Shaw Ltd Farrel Ltd is to cut 39 jobs at its rubber and plastics mixing machinery plant in Rochdale, the company announced to...

TransCanada to sell thermal black maker.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... TransCanada PipeLines Ltd is divesting between $2000 million and $3000 million of its assets, including thermal black producer Cancarb Ltd, to concentrate on its core business. "We're the only operation Trans-Canada owns that does the sort...

Solutia completes Vianova acquisition.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Solutia Inc. has completed its $640-million acquisition of Viking Resins Group Holdings BV, the holding company of Vianova Resins Group, from Morgan Grenfell Private Equity Ltd. Completion of the deal followed European Commission approval...

Rapra leads UK project to support rubber firms.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Rapra Technology Ltd has signed a 256 000 [pounds sterling] ($410 000 million) contract with Advantage, the development agency for the UK West Midlands, to offer advice and support services to rubber and plastics firms in the region. ...

Nokian ends off-take tyre deal with Tofan Grup.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Nokian says Tofan cannot meet quality criteria in mid-sized agricultural tyres Nokian Tyres plc has terminated a two-year-old co-operation deal with Tofan Grup of Romania, under which Tofan manufactured smaller-sized Nokian agricultural...

Vredestein to move cycle tyre unit to reduce costs.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Vredestein NV's bicycle tyre business, Vredestein Fietsbanden BV, is to relocate production to lower labour-cost regions, with the loss of 125 jobs at its Doetinchem facility in The Netherlands. Equipment and technical know-how of the...

world news.
February 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 China: CR consolidation ...

China Tire renews Dalian battle with Goodyear.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... China Tire initiates yet another court case against Goodyear over the ownership of a tyre plant in Dalian, China A $3500 million lawsuit filed by Hong Kong-based tyre maker China Tire Holdings Ltd is the "latest attempt to resurrect" a...

Conti refining Austrian, South African facilities.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Conti confirms Traiskirchen will stay open as an MMP hub, and announces new investments in South Africa. Continental AG is modernising tyre factories in Austria and South Africa to make them more responsive to local conditions. In Europe,...

Debts push Lewis & Peat in receivership.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Long-established rubber trader is now being run by the receiver, as bids are sought Lewis & Peat (Rubber) Ltd, one of the world's longest-established natural rubber trading firms, is in receivership, amid allegations of financial...

People.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Pawson to lead Schlegel unit [] Ian Pawson has been appointed European managing director for UniPoly Schlegel, with responsibility for operations in the UK, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Pawson's previous position as managing...

Chemical allergies still a problem for latex users.
February 1, 2000... A concentration by the glove and dipped product industry on eliminating the protein allergy problem with natural rubber latex has masked another issue: allergies to rubber chemicals. These cause less dramatic effects but can still affect health...

Hypoallergenicity of guayule questioned.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... An official of a condom manufacturing firm is raising questions about the long-term hypoallergenicity of latex from the desert shrub guayule. Guayule researchers, however, defend the substance as a safe alternative to Hevea latex. They say...

Alarm gloves for radiation workers.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... A new glove designed to detect punctures immediately, aimed at workers dealing with highly hazardous materials, has been developed by North Safety Products, in conjunction with the US Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. ...

Chemicals progress extends elastomer types used in hose & belting.
February 1, 2000... Improved compounding ingredients for better formulations for hose and belting applications were a major focus of speakers at the recent RubberChem '99 meeting in Antwerp, Belgium. In tyre compounding the silica revolution is still having...

Independent Acordis enthusiastic about industrial fibres future.(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2000... Acordis' management is raring to run its fibres business free from corporate control. It sees the success of the business resting largely on its strong industrial fibres unit. Newly-independent fibres business Acordis is basing its future...

Holroyd to introduce new mixer.
February 1, 2000... Continuous mixing--the holy grail of the rubber compounding business--could be just around the corner. Eric Holroyd, a UK specialist known for innovations in tyre-making equipment, has built a demonstration unit, and the first results look very...

Thought for the future.
February 1, 2000... Now that we are deep into the millennium, and all the hype over the Y2K bug has more or less subsided, I thought I would try my hand at predicting the future once more. Every couple of years I make some guesses at what might happen in the...