European Rubber Journal articles from July 2006

European Rubber Journal archives from July 2006

CF Gomma resumes production as workers return; C F Gomma faces crisis as strike over a court decision leads to stoppages at Fiat Group factories.(News)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw CF Gomma, which is being blamed for the temporary closure on 10 July of several Fiat group factories due to failure to deliver components, has admitted that "intensive strikes" did affect all its Italian production units...

JSR to add EPDM and S-SBR capacity in Japan, Korea; Japanese rubber maker to add EPDM capacity in Korean joint venture and in Japan; seeks S-SBR off-take deal in Europe; and adds compounding capacity in China.(Suppliers)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw JSR Corp. is expanding capacity for synthetic rubber production. The company is adding 28kt/year of capacity for EPDM at the Kumho Polychem joint venture in Yeocheon, Korea, bringing capacity there to 78kt/year and...

briefs.(Total Petrochemicals facility close )(Eliokem new reactor capacity )(Dow Europe GmbH polyolefin elastomers prices )
July 1, 2006... Total Petrochem to exit SBCs, close Antwerp unit Antwerp, Belgium-Total Petrochemicals intends to end elastomer production at its Antwerp facility in Belgium after several years operating in increasingly tough economic and competitive...

DuPont launches Kevlar-elastomer composite; DuPont's fibres unit offers solid elastomer masterbatches reinforced with short fibres. Process is based on latex-phase mixing.
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw DuPont's Canadian research unit has, after many years of research, finally started selling commercially a compound made up of rubber compound mixed with short fibres of its aramid material, Kevlar. "We are excited to...

Dow launches elastomer based on olefin block copolymer.(olefin elastomer)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Dow Chemical Co. has introduced a new olefin elastomer based on block-copolymer technology.The olefin block copolymer (OBC) product goes under the Infuse name. In a press release, Dow said, "The unique block architecture of Infuse OBCs...

Bridgestone to build truck tyre plant in Poland; New truck tyre facility will be close to German border, Baltic ports.(News)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Bridgestone will build a truck and bus tyre factory in the north-west of Poland. The unit will be on stream early in 2009, reaching full capacity of around 5000 tyres per day two years later. Bridgestone has allocated...

briefs.(Tokyo-Bridgestone Corp sales)(Bridgestone Corporation 'Best investor in Poland' )(appointment of Roger Jenkins)
July 1, 2006... Bridgestone says higher NR costs mean less profit Tokyo-Bridgestone Corp. has issued a statement saying net profit for the year 2006 will be 35 percent lower than previously forecast, due to higher than expected increases in prices of...

briefs.
July 1, 2006... Pirelli withdraws Pirelli Tyre IPO, citing unfavourable market conditions Milan, Italy-Pirelli & C. SpA has withdrawn the public offering of shares in Pirelli Tyre SpA, saying market conditions globally did not allow it to realise the...

Edouard Michelin dies in boating accident.(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Michelin Chairman Edouard Michelin died on 26 May in a boating accident in the Atlantic Ocean off the France's Brittany coast. He was 42 years old (see comment, p30). M Michelin's body was recovered by the French Coast Guard near the...

Rollier will preserve resources, keep Michelin's goals; New Michelin chief says no change in corporate strategy or tactics.(News)(Michel Rollier)(Compagnie Generale des Etablissement Michelin)
July 1, 2006... Byline: Bruce Davis Michelin's No. 1 task following the 26 May death of co-CEO Edouard Michelin is to execute the strategy the company's most senior managers worked out under his direction, new chief executive Michel Rollier said. ...

Michelin views rising NR price as an R&D challenge.(Briefs)(Compagnie Generale des Etablissement Michelin)(natural rubber )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Michelin faces continued pressure on earnings from rising raw material costs, but CEO Michel Rollier views the challenge as a chance for innovative companies like Michelin to tackle the dilemma internally through cost-control measures and...

briefs.(Trelleborg AB acquired Mar-Con Group, Mehren Rubber A/S and Kawneer Rubber and Plastics )
July 1, 2006... Trelleborg buys Mar-Con group Stockholm, Sweden-Trelleborg AB's Engineered Systems business area has acquired Mar-Con Group, made up of Oy Mar-Con Polymers Ltd. and Gromedi Oy, with approximately 90 employees and annual sales of about SEK...

Amtel-Vredestein annual report profiles company; Annual report describes company's activities, strategy in fair detail.(Amtel-Vredestein NV)(Report)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Amtel-Vredestein NV's annual report for 2005 gives a detailed picture of the company's capabilities and output over the last year. The company is aiming to be Russia's biggest tyre retailer and has revealed that the...

briefs.
July 1, 2006... Toyo reports record sales in fiscal '06 Osaka, Japan-Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd reported improved operating income and record sales in fiscal 2006, with the tyre business segment leading the way, but the firm suffered a 28.1-percent drop in...

Silicone elastomers offer higher profit potential - part 1 of 2; Silicones are expensive compared with other elastomers, but they can provide better opportunities for profit.(News)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw The silicone elastomers business is becoming a separate entity from the rubber or thermoplastics sector, with its own supply chain involving suppliers, compounders and processors. This is especially true in wire and...

Polychloroprene shortage bites deep in Europe; Polimeri Europa's decision to close Butaclor last year threw the industry into chaos, while DPE will close Louisville next March. Meanwhile Lanxess is planning more capacity at Dormagen.(News)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw There have been big changes in the supply of polychloroprene (CR) elastomers over the last year, resulting in a severe shortage throughout Europe, suppliers and compounders told ERJ. Until the middle of 2005, CR was...

Compounders feel the pinch of higher prices; Custom compounders are sandwiched between the big materials suppliers and their clients. In the face of ever-rising raw materials costs, they are holding prices for three months rather than 12.(News)(Polymer-Technik Elbe )(Marconi Gomma)(Hexagon )(Company overview)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Europe's custom compounders are feeling the pinch of higher prices. The result is that all have switched from holding prices for 12 months or 6 months, to price changes notified every three months. One of the main...

Begin REACH now, or risk losing your market; REACH's effects will be far-reaching when it comes into effect next year. Some materials may disappear from the European region, while suppliers and processors will be faced with large costs.(News)(registration, evaluation, authorisation of chemicals)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw The message from DKT could not have been more stark: "No data, no market." That means almost everyone involved in the rubber industry will have to provide data to the new European Chemicals Agency based in Helsinki, or...

Injection moulding machine sets itself up; Maplan of Austria and CAS of Germany have combined technologies to create an injection moulding machine that can set itself up.(News)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Maplan has made a dream come true. Together with German software company CAS (Computerunterstutzte Automatisierungs Systeme), it has developed an injection moulding machine that can set itself up, and do a better job...

FKM grades for processability, wider temperature ranges; The fluoroelastomer sector is being driven by automotive demands for higher temperatures, faster processing and better chemical resistance.(News)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw New grades of fluoroelastomer are helping compounders and processors meet the demands of the automotive and other industries. On the technical front, emissions legislation, higher engine temperatures and more exotic...

Diary.(Calendar)(Calendar)
July 1, 2006... * World Rubber summit. 26 - 29 July: Bangkok. Contact Siam Polymer Engineering & Consultation Co., Ltd.. Tel +662 564 7996-8, fax +662 564 7997, www.rubberandlatexworldsummit.com/ * Tyrexpo Africa 2006. 12-14 September: Johannesburg....

We'll all miss Edouard.(Edouard Michelin)(Obituary)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Edouard Michelin will be sorely missed in the tyre industry. When he took over at Michelin in 1999, the company was overly secretive, over-exposed to high cost manufacturing and over-staffed. One of his first acts was to...

Holdfast rubber road system aims to ease congestion; Rosehill Polymers supplies large mouldings made from recycled tyres to Holdfast.(News)(Holdfast Rubber Highways)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw In a well-attended event in early June, Holdfast Rubber Highways introduced the UK's media to a dual-use roadway, in which heavy rubber blocks are laid around a light rail system, with the result that cars and light...

Oil prices hit new peaks as NR appears to be weakening.(News)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Information We present here a series of charts and tables which are meant to give a snapshot of how the rubber industry is performing. The price of rubber on the Singapore commodity exchange is possibly the most important price in the...

Materials and process combine to cut costs.(Column)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw It is not often that you come across something really new in this industry. And I guess what I am writing about here is not completely new. Nevertheless, it is symptomatic of a trend that I think really is different from...

On the ERJ web site ... www.europeanrubberjournal.com.(News)(Harvey Firestone, John Boyd Dunlop enter Inventors' Hall of Fame)(Sicom Inc. launches web site)(earnings of Matador A.S.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... You can find all the news we can't fit into the magazine, including... Harvey Firestone, John Boyd Dunlop enter Inventors' Hall of fame... Inventor suggest LCD pressure readout on tyres... Matador increases sales, profits in 2006......

briefs.(Fujikura Rubber Ltd acquires IER Industries Inc.)(Colorado-Gates Corp. appoints Marco Moran and John Bohenick)(Safic Alcan and DSM Elastomers sign distribution deal)
July 1, 2006... Fujikura Rubber buys US moulder Macedonia, Ohio-Tokyo-based industrial rubber goods maker Fujikura Rubber Ltd has acquired a controlling interest in high-tech moulded elastomer seals and parts manufacturer IER Industries Inc. Terms of the...

Lanxess sets out strategy for technical rubber; Lanxess technical rubber products unit offers five-year pricing contracts to customers.(Suppliers)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Lanxess' technical rubber management has outlined its strategy for China, for prices and for the different products offered by the business unit. The company first said it is seeking to negotiate long-term pricing...

Hexagon to open Mexican compounding plant by 2007; Custom compounder plans to boost North American unit with Mexican operation.(News)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Hexagon Polymers is planning a new rubber compounding unit in Mexico, scheduled to be up and running by the third quarter of 2007. Initially the compounding plant will have one mixer, that will be an existing machine...

briefs.(Hugh Pace appointed at Rapra Technology Ltd.)(Chemtura Corp. appoints Robert Wedinger)(Saurer acquires Day International)
July 1, 2006... Hugh Pace takes over at Rapra Shropshire, UK-Rapra Technology has appointed former Goodyear executive and US national, Hugh Pace as vice president and managing director, effective immediately. Pace succeeds Andrew Ward who, according...

More stories on the web.(News)(Ansell looks to acquire Polish company)(global tyre market research)(Rhein Chemie offers price hike)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Don't miss out on the news. We don't have room in the magazine for all the news that goes on the ERJ website, day in, day out. So make sure you get full value out of your subscription. Go to www.europeanrubberjournal.com to see these stories....

Bridgestone is world's biggest non-tyre rubber company; Hutchinson slips off top slot as Bridgestone expands non-tyre rubber activities.(News)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Byline: Bruce Davis Bridgestone Corp. knocked Hutchinson SA out of the top spot, while some other companies switched positions, in the latest rankings of the world's largest non-tyre rubber product makers. France's Hutchinson has led...

Hutchinson '05 sales up 5 percent on higher North American activity.(News)
July 1, 2006... French rubber products maker Hutchinson SA reported 5-percent higher sales in fiscal 2005, with business in North America leading the growth. Hutchinson, the world's largest non-tyre rubber goods producer, reported [euro]2800 million in sales...

Silicone elastomers offer higher profit potential - part 2 of 2; Silicones are expensive compared with other elastomers, but they can provide better opportunities for profit.(News)
July 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Liquid silicone rubber Despite its high per-kilo price - maybe [euro]10 -15 / kg - LSR offers potential cost savings as well advantages in repeatability and flexibility when the priority is for high volumes of very...