European Rubber Journal articles from July 2007

European Rubber Journal archives from July 2007

On the ERJ web site ... www.europeanrubberjournal.com.(News)
July 1, 2007... You can find all the news we can't fit into the magazine, including... Richard Hammond crash caused by tyre blister... Dow picks Jacobs for Schkopau S-SBR expansion... Freudenberg-NOK retains AT&T to provide VPN-based comms support......

briefs.
July 1, 2007... EU clears Conti's purchase of Matador Brussels - The European Union (EU) Commission has approved Continental AG's plan to buy majority control of Slovak Republic-based Matador AS's tyre, conveyor belt and rubber machinery operations. ...

Marine hose investigations may cost Trelleborg [euro]80 m; Trelleborg warns that the anti-trust investigation might soak up, "a predominant proportion of the group's pre-tax profits for 2006." The company made operating profits of [euro]160 million in 2006.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Trelleborg AB has said its marine hose operations, Trelleborg Industrie SAS, are now under investigation by Japanese and British anti-competition authorities. Trelleborg said these new investigations cover a number of...

Skellerup to focus on rubber: move will affect profits, jobs; New Zealand company aims to re-focus on rubber and plastic products.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Skellerup Holdings Ltd has decided to specialise as a global technical polymers (mostly rubber) company, according to a corporate statement. This emphasis, said the company, will mean lower profits in the short term, and...

briefs.(Trico)(Kohlberg and Co.)(The International Rubber Study Group)(International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Tomkins sells Trico Wipers business for [euro]82 million London -Tomkins plc, the global engineering and machinery group, has sold its Trico Wipers ("Trico") business to affiliates of Kohlberg & Company LLC for about [euro]82 million,...

Berwin buys Watts' mixing unit.(News)(Berwin Group Ltd)(Watts Industrial Polymers Ltd)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Berwin Group Ltd has bought Watts Industrial Polymers Ltd, the compounding operations of Watts Group. Manufacturing of the Watts compound range will remain at its Lydney site. Berwin said it is confident the acquisition will enable the...

E & R closes - equipment sold.(News)
July 1, 2007... A small foamed rubber moulding company based in Stanley, Co. Durham: E & R Polymers Ltd., has gone into liquidation. Ian Green and Derek Howell of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were appointed joint administrators of the company on 22 May 2007. ...

BTMA dinner set for 5 October in Solihull.(News)
July 1, 2007... The UK tyre industry dinner will take place on Friday 5 October in the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Solihull, near Birmingham. The event, organised by the British Tyre Manufacturers' Association Ltd. takes Carnival as its theme and will...

Pirelli to consolidate two Turin plants, use MIRS, CCM; Car, truck factories in Turin to be merged, to make one highly advanced factory for low-volume, high value tyres.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Pirelli Tyre SpA is planning to consolidate its separate car and truck tyre plants in Turin into one "state-of-the-art technological and industrial centre" for car and truck tyres at the site of its current truck tyre...

France's Elastopole is eligible for government funds; French rubber initiative wins right to secure government funds.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw The Elastopole initiative established by the French Rubber industry federation, SNCP in June 2006, has won recognition from the French government. The new recognition means the SNCP's (Syndicat National du Caoutchouc et...

Tax change sends Chinese tyre prices upward.(News)
July 1, 2007... A recent decision by the Chinese government to change the way it calculates the value-added tax (VAT) on finished goods will result in higher prices of as much as eight percent on Chinese-made tyres and wheels sold in North America and...

Cooper-Standard to buy eight Metzeler profiles operations; CVC breaks up MAPS as many European operations are sold off.(News)(Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc.)(Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems)(CVC Capital Partners)(Metzeler GmbH)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc. and Automotive Sealing Systems SA have signed a definitive sale and purchase agreement in which Cooper-Standard will buy Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems (MAPS) sealing systems...

Corrections.(Correction)
July 1, 2007... Compounding table In the last issue of ERJ , we printed a table highlighting some of the main custom compounders in Europe. Unfortunately, we omitted one company - Clwyd Compounders -and printed old data on three more, Formix, Elastorsa...

Dunlop Aircraft Tyres signs [pounds sterling]40 m private equity deal; Independent UK-based aircraft tyre company is sold to private equity in deal rumoured to be worth [euro]60 million.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Dunlop Aircraft Tyres ltd has changed ownership in a deal rumoured to be worth around [pounds sterling]40 million ([euro]60 million). ABN-Amro Capital has bought 74.6 percent of the equity, subject to normal closing...

Apollo de-bottlenecks, plans big expansion in South Africa; Steady expansion at South African tyre factories as new management comes in, but big investments will add capacity for off-road tyres.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Apollo Tyres LTD has said it has already de-bottlenecked production at its two South African factories and is planning a significant expansion there. Since buying the operations of Dunlop South Africa in April 2006,...

briefs.
July 1, 2007... Conti tyre gets Guinness World Records accolade for speed Hanover, Germany - The ContiSportContact Vmax has been entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's fastest standard production tyre. The certification experts from the TUV...

Michelin Germany wins productivity for jobs deal; German unions agree to secure jobs in exchange for longer working week.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Michelin Germany and the IG BCE union have signed a five-year agreement designed to secure employment at Michelin's five tyre factories in Germany and ensure they do not slip down the productivity league, said a Michelin...

Alliance Tire goes to investors for $150 million; Former chief executive of Balkrishna joins shareholders, plans greenfield tyre factory in India for low-cost production.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Alliance Tire Co., the Israeli tyre maker is being sold to a group of investors for around [euro]110 million. The buyers are a consortium led by global private equity company, Warburg Pincus and supported by Yogesh...

briefs.
July 1, 2007... Hankook starts tyre-production at its [euro]500 million plant in Hungary Dunaujvaros, Hungary - Hankook Tire has started tyre-production in its [euro]500 million plant in Hungary. The plant, which was opened by Seung Hwa Suh, the...

ExxonMobil introduces inner liner revolution - new facility; Alloy of Exxpro and polyamide allows ExxonMobil to extrude thin films suitable for tyre inner-liners.(Suppliers)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw ExxonMobil Chemical Co. is to introduce a new technology for tyre inner liners. The company will commercialise the new technology later this year. and build a new facility in Pensacola, Florida, due on stream in early...

briefs.(styrene-butadiene rubber)(Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals L.L.C.)(Asahi Kasei Corp.,Japan Elastomer Co)(Dow Chemical Co.)(Kraiburg TPE GmbH & Co)
July 1, 2007... Akzo Nobel opens polysulphide plant in China Taixing, China - Akzo Nobel's Functional Chemicals business has opened a new polysulphide production plant in China. The company described China as, "the fastest-growing polysulfides market in...

Lanxess restructures technical rubber goods unit; Lanxess has restructured along product lines, but companies who order different products still have a single client contact point.(Suppliers)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Lanxess AG has realigned its Technical Rubber Products (TRP) business unit with effect from 1 July. The business unit is now subdivided worldwide into business lines according to products. Lanxess said it wants to take...

briefs.(Jyco Sealing Technologies)(Trelleborg Automotive)
July 1, 2007... Jyco claims TPV corner mouldings are low-friction Dexter, Michigan - Jyco claims to have overcome one of the biggest difficulties with its TPV corner moulding technology: high friction. The company says its latest TPV corner mouldings offer...

Lanxess to build [euro]400 million butyl facility in Asia.(Suppliers)
July 1, 2007... Chemical group Lanxess AG has announced it will build a [euro]400 million butyl rubber plant in Asia, which it hopes to have on-stream by 2010. The location of the facility, which will produce both butyl and halobutyl rubber, is yet to be...

briefs.(Company overview)
July 1, 2007... Lion Copolymer completes purchase of Chemtura assets Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Lion Copolymer LLC has completed its purchase of the EPDM and chemical foaming agent assets associated with Chemtura Corp.'s Geismar, Louisiana, plant. The...

UK REACH seminar draws small crowd.(News)(registration, evaluation, assessment, restriction of chemicals)
July 1, 2007... A small but dedicated crowd attended a seminar on the REACH (registration, evaluation, assessment, restriction of chemicals) legislation organised by the BRPPA. The 30 or so delegates heard from three speakers, led by Dr Abid Dost, Health and...

Carbon black turbulence eases in Europe, but not elsewhere; The worst of the turbulence in the carbon black business is over, according to senior players in the business, but Asia is still a fast-growing area.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Over 80 percent of the 8 million to 9 million tonnes of carbon black made in the world each year goes into the rubber industry. The vast majority of that goes into tyres. Three key trends have been affecting the business...

briefs.(Phillips Carbon Black Ltd.)
July 1, 2007... PCBL has global ambitions London - Phillips Carbon Black Ltd. (PCBL) will continue to rely on the Indian market for the bulk of its volume, but it also has international ambitions, according to Sanjiv Goenka, chairman. He said, "PCBL is...

Degussa doubles carbon black capacity of Brazil plant.(News)
July 1, 2007... Degussa GmbH has doubled its production capacity for carbon black in Paulinia, Brazil, to 100 000 tonnes per year, bringing total investment there to [euro]65 million. With the expansion of capacity in Paulinia, Degussa said it is augmenting...

Cabot to close West Virginia carbon black plant.(News)
July 1, 2007... Cabot Corp. is to close its carbon black manufacturing facility in Waverly, West Virginia. The company expects manufacturing operations to cease in March 2008 with customer shipments from the facility continuing through the middle of 2008. ...

Case study in China.(News)(Case study)
July 1, 2007... Degussa's Hermann said that in five years' time, the choices made by the world's big three carbon black makers in China, should be the subject of a significant study in the Harvard Business Review, or some similarly prestigious publication. ...

Environmental pressure to drive silica growth in tyres; Degussa hopes sales of silica - silane materials into the tyre industry will grow as politicians and consumers become more aware of environmental issues.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Thomas Hermann, head of Degussa's advanced fillers and pigments business unit said Degussa is the only company which can supply carbon black, silica and the silane coupling agents needed by today's tyre industry. ...

K 2007 runs from Oct 24 - Oct 31: Part 1 of 2.(News)
July 1, 2007... It's that time again: K'2007 opens on October 24, and continues until the end of the month. The 17th international Plastics and Rubber Trade Fair runs from 24 October - 31 October 2007 in the Dusseldorf Fairgrounds, in Halls 1 - 17. ...

Troubled Maerdy rubber company rescued; Privately-held Avon Group Manufacturing brings former United Polymer factories together again.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Crosslink, the Maerdy, Wales-based rubber compounder, has been rescued by a local businessman, after going into administration in June. The company has retained 84 of the 140 jobs at the plant and has won commitments...

Cost-down might be good, but differentiation is better; Performance Fibers can cut costs, but thinks the next wave will be about differentiation and technology.(News)(Industry overview)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Performance Fibers, the former Allied Signal business, specialises in polyester fibres for the tyre and industrial sectors and is seeking ways to make itself more attractive to customers. The company says it is...

Fluoroelastomer technology keeps delivering Innovation; In this piece DuPont Performance Elastomers reviews the contribution of fluoroelastomers over the years.(News)(Company overview)
July 1, 2007... Byline: Garry Lambert Today's high performance fluoroelastomers are the result of 50 years of evolution. The fluoroelastomer (FKM) business is now a global industry with total annual sales expected to reach around 20 kilotonnes this year....

Indian tyre industry profiled in Indian analysts' report; Report profiles Indian tyre industry.(News)(Industry overview)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Truck tyres make up only a quarter of the number of tyres sold in India, but 70 percent of the value, according to a report from India Infoline. However, it is the car tyre sector that is driving growth. Figures from...

Stankovska joins ERJ.(People)
July 1, 2007... Simona Stankovska has joined the editorial staff of ERJ. Simona will be writing news for both the website and the magazine. Look out for her by-line. If you have any news about the rubber industry, please contact her on +44 20 7457...

Oill prices continue to rise, as car registrations stabilise.(News)
July 1, 2007... 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...

REACH might trigger new association memberships.(Column)(Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances)(Viewpoint essay)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw REACH finally arrived on the statute book in June. Opinions among the chemical industry at large are now established. The majority view today is that this is a piece of legislation which needs to be in place. The old...

Hexagon plans to list compounding business on Nordic Exchange.(News)
July 1, 2007... Hexagon AB is to ask shareholders to approve a separate listing of the business area Hexagon Polymers on The Nordic Exchange. The listing is planned for the first half of 2008. Hexagon Polymers comprises Herxagon's rubber compounding activity...

ITClooks at nitrile gloves.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: Simona Stankovska The US International Trade Commission (ITC) will investigate 31 nitrile glove manufacturers around the world for alleged patent infringements. US-based legal firm, King & Spalding filed suit on behalf of...

Conti takes over as world's top non-tyre rubber goods maker; All change at the top of the world rubber product rankings as industry consolidates.(News)
July 1, 2007... Byline: Bruce Davis Continental AG has taken over from Hutchinson SA as the world's largest maker of non-tyre rubber goods. The German company jumped from fourth position last year to top slot following a series of acquisitions, including...

Freudenberg Group continues to increase sales and profits; FDS reports 3.5 percent sales growth, adds factories in Ceperka, Czech Republic and Oberwihl, Germany.(News)(Freudenberg und Co.)(Financial report)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw The Freudenberg Group reported sales over [euro]5000 million for the year to December 2006. Adjusted to allow for exchange rate influences as well as acquisition and disinvestment effects, the rise in sales is roughly...

ZF Rubber-metal sales declined slightly in 2006; ZF Boge Elastometall wins Asian order.(News)(Financial report)
July 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Sales at the rubber-metal bonding unit of ZF, ZF Boge Elastmetall, declined slightly in the year to December, 2006. In the company's annual report, it said, "In the year under review, business unit sales fell by 4...

K 2007 runs from Oct 24 - Oct 31: Part 2 of 2.(News)(K 2007 Exhibitions)
July 1, 2007... So.F.Ter: Stand No. 06 / E28 So.F.Ter, the Italian TPE producer, is adding to its TPV range with two ultra-soft new materials. The new grades, measuring respectively 20 and 30 Shore A, belong to the family of the 6SD Forprene, a...

Rubber course stretches your knowledge.(News)(Rapra Technology Ltd.)(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Byline: Simona Stankovska Shrewsbury-based Rapra Technology is one of the only places in the UK where you can learn about rubber. I attended a two-day lecture, which promised to give me a "sound introduction to rubber materials and their...