European Rubber Journal articles from February 2001

European Rubber Journal archives from February 2001

GenCorp finalises Draftex buy, forms GDX.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... GenCorp Inc. completed its acquisition of Draftex International Car Body Seals on 29 Dec, creating the world's second largest automotive sealing supplier with annual sales of $875 million. Following the purchase, GenCorp's vehicle sealing...

Plane crashes into Linatex HQ.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Industrial rubber products group Linatex was hit by a major blaze when a twin-engine plane crashed into its worldwide headquarters and UK manufacturing base at Yateley, 40 miles southwest of London. Five people on the plane were killed when...

Concorde has new rubber/aramid tanks.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Concorde is being flight-tested in France and the UK, to study the effectiveness of new safety modifications, which feature liners made of Kevlar-reinforced fluoroelastomer to protect the fuel tanks. Tests will include a simulated fuel leak...

DuPont and Sabanci finalise nylon JV.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... DuPont and Sabanci Holding have expanded their multi-regional alliance for manufacturing and marketing industrial nylon. Their new 50/50 joint venture--DuPont-Sabanci International 11c--will be "the world's leading global supplier of heavy...

Bayer raising EPDM capacity to 185 ktpa.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Bayer AG is increasing its global EPDM capacity to 185-kilotonne per annum (ktpa), by adding a third production line at its facility in Marl, Germany and debottlenecking its other plant in Orange, Texas. Due to come on stream in 2003, the...

Rubber news: ERJ newsbriefs.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Pirelli setting up MIRS units in US, Germany [] Milan, Italy--Pirelli SpA's US subsidiary Pirelli Tires IIc is working with local authorities in Georgia and North Carolina to find a site for its first US plant to use the Modular Integrated...

Freudenberg opens 30-m capacity oil-seals unit.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Freudenberg Dichtungs- und Schwingungs-technik has officially opened its first purpose-built high-volume factory dedicated solely to automotive oil seals, in Kecskemet, Hungary, southeast of Budapest. FDS has ambitious aims for the plant:...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2001... ETRA--post-consumer tyres [] London--Valerie Shulman of ETRA has asked us to point out that we misquoted her in our report (ERJ, December 2000, p31) on the definition of waste as regards post-consumer tyres. She wishes to make it plain...

Dunlop Precision wins Bombardier contract.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Dunlop Precision Rubber has won contracts with Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier Aerospace to supply fire-retardant seals for its new `Continental' business jet. Dunlop Precision Rubber, which is the Leicester, UK-based seals unit of the...

Doughty Hanson to sell Aerospace business?(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Doughty Hanson is reported to putting its Dunlop Standard Aerospace business up for sale, in a deal which could fetch close to 1000 million [pounds sterling] ($1430 million), according to UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph. Doughty Hanson...

Federal-Mogul to close plants, cut supply base.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... In an aggressive cost-cutting plan, Federal-Mogul Corp. said it will close up to 50 plants, reduce its supply base of 55 000 by more than 50 percent and once again consider the sale of some non-core businesses. The seal maker has not yet...

Lloyd, MacLellan form pan-Atlantic alliance.(Lloyd Manufacturing Corp., MacLellan Rubber Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Rubber sheeting maker Lloyd Manufacturing Corp. of Warren, Rhode Island has increased its presence in Europe by signing a joint distribution and marketing agreement with MacLellan Rubber Ltd of Glasgow, Scotland. Under the agreement,...

Metflex spends 200 000 [pounds sterling] to automotive gas seals.(Schlumberger RMS Metflex)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Rubber moulder Schlumberger RMS Metflex, based in Blackburn, UK, has spent 200 000 [pounds sterling] ($286 000) on two highly automated Maplan injection moulding machines. The equipment will be used to make gaskets for the gas sector, which are...

VIP to lift Russian sales of adhesives.(Vita Industrial Polymers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Vita Industrial Polymers has appointed Confy Trading to sell its products in Russia Vita Industrial Polymers has appointed Russian firm Confy Trading, based in Moscow, to distribute its products in the country. Confy will primarily focus...

Goodyear halts UK job cuts amid staff confusion.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... Goodyear halted most of the 500 redundancies announced at its Wolverhampton tyre plant on 8 Jan after the workforce had overwhelmingly voted down its plans for a new shift pattern. The reprieve came at the request of union officials following...

Kleber expansion to create 240 tyre jobs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... Kleber is investing 20 million [European Dollar] ($18.8 million) to raise the annual capacity of its facilities at Toul by over 50 percent to 6.8 million tyres by 2002, under a plan involving the creation of 240 new jobs. The Groupe Michelin...

Pirelli closes remaining US tyre plant.(Pirelli Tire North America)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Pirelli Tire North America closed its Hanford, California, tyre factory 4 Jan after talks between company and union officials failed to save Pirelli's lone US tyre plant. "We were not able to come to any kind of agreement," the spokesman...

Multiple factors caused tread separations-BSFS.(Bridgetone/Firestone Inc.'s tires)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... An internal probe by experts at Bridgetone/Firestone Inc. has concluded that no single factor caused the abnormal rate of tread separations in the millions of P235/75R15 Firestone Radial ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tyres the company...

Tyre news: ERJ newsbriefs.(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... Michelin vote on 35-hour week [] Clermont Ferrand, France--Groupe Michelin is asking its 27 000-strong workforce in France to approve or reject proposals for the introduction of a 35-hour week under French labour law. Michelin's...

Ex-Dunlop director to organise tyre conference.
February 1, 2001... Roger Williams, previously technical director of Dunlop Tyres UK Ltd, has agreed to act as conference organiser for the ITEC Asia conference. Williams, who holds 12 patents in the tyre area, is a recipient of the IOM's Colwyn medal, and...

UK promotes responsible tyre recycling.
February 1, 2001... UK Tyre logistics and disposal companies are being encouraged to join the `Responsible Recycler' scheme, sponsored by the country's Tyre Industry Council. The scheme has been running for a few months, but the members decided to make a...

Columbian Chemicals put up for sale.
February 1, 2001... Phelps Dodge Corp. is planning to exit the carbon black business and focus on its metal mining operations. The copper company has placed Columbian Chemicals Co., one of the world's largest producers of carbon black, and its PD Wire & Cable...

Supplier news: ERJ newsbriefs.
February 1, 2001... Strike at Good-year Chem ends [] Houston, Texas--Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 347 have approved a three-year contract, ending a 64-day strike at Goodyear's chemical plant in Houston. Twaron sale to...

Wacker-Chemie to restructure ownership.
February 1, 2001... Wacker-Chemie GmbH, which has a major silicone elastomers business, is restructuring its ownership. The 50-percent holding in Wacker-Chemie currently held by Hoechst AG is to be divested in two steps by 2002. In January 2001, the other 50...

NR reserves to hit all-time low, says EIU.
February 1, 2001... Natural rubber stocks are on track to reach an all-time low, while global consumption is growing much faster than previously expected, according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. Coverage for NR stocks will decline from 15...

INRO buffer stock gradually dwindles.
February 1, 2001... The International Natural Rubber Organization has sold 82.8 kilotonnes of its buffer stock, or more than 60 percent of the 138 kt it had on hand when it voted itself out of existence, last year. The NR price stabilisation group suspended...

Solvent-free silicones move into roof coating.
February 1, 2001... Rhodia Silicones has developed a new silicone emulsion technology for protecting roof coatings made of spray polyurethane foam (SPF). The French-headquartered company has also found a US distributor for the product. Paris-based Rhodia...

Butadiene use to reach 10 500 kt by 2005.
February 1, 2001... Butadiene rubber and ABS resins will have the highest growth rate in use of butadiene over the next five years according to CMAI's (Chemical Marketing Associates Inc.) latest butadiene analysis. Use of butadiene in butadiene rubber is predicted...

Pronal's motor racing fuel tanks certified.
February 1, 2001... French specialist in elastomer coated materials Pronal SA has gained FT5 certification from the Federation Internationale Automobile to make flexible fuel tanks for Formula 1 racing cars. Leading car makers--BMW, Citroen, Mercedes Benz,...

ERJ People.
February 1, 2001... DSM Elastomers appoints [] Geleen, The Netherlands--Dutch EPDM supplier DSM Elastomers has appointed Mike Junker and Wim Breemhaar quality service managers for its Keltan-brand EPDM, for the Americas and Europe, respectively. The two will...

AES launches first TPV grade for CVJ boots.
February 1, 2001... Advanced Elastomer Systems NV/SA claims to have developed the first thermoplastic vulcanisate material tailored specifically for use in boots for constant velocity joint (CVJ) applications. Santoprene TPV grade 7028 can reduce part weight...

Blue Diamond sets up seals test centre.
February 1, 2001... Group investment has allowed seal supplier Blue Diamond access to a $600 000 in-house prototype production, testing and development unit at its Eastleigh, UK site. It intends to use the new facility to manufacture and test its existing designs...

Where is zinc going?
February 1, 2001... Zinc is widely used industrially, not least in tyres and rubber, and is an essential mineral for most animal and plant species. Its industrial users are currently examining ways to minimise any environmental contamination, following some...

eBusiness starts to crystallise.
February 1, 2001... Following a year of uncertainty and hype, many companies are now working towards specific goals in their e-commerce activities, having used the last year to identify requirements, create specialist teams, and formulate strategies. A lot...

Covisint sells itself to the supply chain.
February 1, 2001... Covisint, jointly owned by the top US car makers, is likely to become the benchmark for automotive supply chain activities, but European companies remain unconvinced. What is Covisint Covisint is expected to be the world's largest...

Strong rivals to challenge Covisint.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Covisint is the highest profile of the automotive supply chain web exchanges, but it is not the only one, by any means. Users of these sites agree first that there will be a major shake-out in the number of exchanges, and also that the...

Conti opens e-business unit.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Continental, which has--among tyre companies, at least--led the way in developing system solutions, is pushing ahead in three fronts with its e-business activities. In December, the company announced the formulation of an e-business which...

Standards--or maybe not.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Today there are too many marketplace web-sites Claiming to offer benefits to users. In The short term, there will be even more, but Eventually, the number will start to fall. All We have to do is to pick the winners. When GM and Ford...

The legal implications of security in e-commerce.(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2001... Legal issues are an important part of e-commerce security. Good legal advice allows organisations to identify responsibilities and liabilities, and helps reduce risk. While many organisations rely primarily on technical solutions, some large...

Build-to-order not suited to all car buyers.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Flexibility in supplier and assembly plants will be key to the success of build-to-order initiatives. But even when build-to-order is possible, don't expect every car buyer to embrace it. Not everyone will care about custom-ordering his or...

Ford saves $38 million in online auctions.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... In November, Ford Motor Co. broke the silence over the financial benefits of its e-commerce activities The automaker, which had done 65 online auctions by the end of November, has saved about 19 percent, or $38 million on sales of more than...

SupplyOn `drills down' to Tier 2.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... The introduction of e-business methods leads to "significant improvements" in supplier relationships by speeding up the purchasing process, according to the head of purchasing at Robert Bosch. Wolfgang Colberg, senior vice president for...

Cyberspace opens security risk.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... [] Strasbourg, France--The rush to implement e-business tools like the online trade exchange is exposing automaker and supplier systems to a previously unheard-of level of risk. "Formerly our systems were very much islands," said John...

Costs will fall either with or without e-business.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
February 1, 2001... The automotive industry is in the process of re-organising itself. Car makers from Ford to Renault have spent the last five years reorganising their internal structures to accommodate a new way of doing business. It is not easy to pinpoint what...