European Rubber Journal articles from June 1999

European Rubber Journal archives from June 1999

Draftex looks to rebound from loss.
June 1, 1999... Yet more problems at plants in the Americas; afire in Germany and restructuring costs in its European operations drove Laird subsidiary Draftex deep into the red last year, and this caused a 74-percent decline in overall earnings at Laird...

ERJ newsbriefs.
June 1, 1999... Airboss in USA buys Acton [] Quebec, Canada--AirBoss of America Corp. has acquired Acton International Inc. of Quebec, Canada's largest producer of rubber military protective wear, for the sum of $34 million. AirBoss makes rubber and...

Freudenberg / Phoenix firm up partnership.
June 1, 1999... Anti-vibration Specialist Freudenberg and Phoenix plan to combine their automotive vibration control technologies by the year 2000, in a joint venture, Vibracoustic, with combined Turnover of $350 million annually. Two German antivibration...

Corrections.
June 1, 1999... Nitriflex' nitrile capacity In the April issue of ER J, we listed capacity of nitrile rubber plants around the world (page 10). Nitriflex SA has informed us that the capacity of its plant in Caxais, Brazil, is 18 ktpa, not 11 ktpa as...

Letter to the editor.
June 1, 1999... Re: Postscript, May 1999 Your article about the possible, but still not certain, demise of INRO was mainly legitimate comments based on fact. I cannot, however, allow you to employ journalistic licence to suggest that there is any crisis...

IREC - late entries.
June 1, 1999... Engel Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH Stand 414 Injection mould machine specialist Engel Vertriebsgesellschaft will be showing the latest technology to improve speed and quality for its customers. These include the EC100 microprocessor...

Trelleborg restructures--distribution to go.
June 1, 1999... Swedish rubber group focuses on industry and is to divest its distribution operations over the next three years. Trelleborg AB is to reposition itself as an industrial group rather than a diversified conglomerate over the next three years,...

New mixing plant at Dowty.
June 1, 1999... [] Abingdon, UK--Forsheda Polymer Engineering, part of the TI Group plc, has invested 2.75 million [pounds sterling] ($4.4 million) in a new mixing plant at its Dowty Seals Division in Ashchurch, Gloucestershire. It will initially supply the...

Semperit hikes Thai hose output.
June 1, 1999... Semperit AG has expanded hydraulic hose production in Songhkla, Thailand, bringing its annual capacity there to over 9 million metres. The addition of two Magnatech high-speed braiders is the third major expansion for the Songhkla plant...

NuSil opens first European plant.
June 1, 1999... NuSil Technology Ltd has opened up in Arklow, Ireland to perform silicone rubber moulding development and testing at a new 2000 [m.sup.2] facility. This should improve communication with its European counterparts. Silicone rubber...

UK rubber sector needs to compete.
June 1, 1999... UK Rubber Manufacturers' Association aims to improve competitiveness of its members by offering `masterclasses' General rubber goods companies in the UK are not winning enough orders internationally--and the British Rubber Manufacturers'...

LIG and Seton talk merger.(Seton Scholl Healthcare)(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... Glove and condom maker, LIG and Seton Scholl Healthcare are discussing a possible merger which would centralise its distribution structure and eliminate redundant production functions. Medical glove and condom maker London International...

BICC launches web presence.
June 1, 1999... [] Leigh, UK--BICC Compounds has launched its own website at www. bicc-compounds.com. Included on the site are sections on products, applications, customer care, the environment, design and quality, as welt as a direct link to the latest...

ITC's ESBR ruling draws mixed reactions.(International Trade Commission emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber dumping cases)(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... Mixed reviews to ITC's decision to exonerate emulsion SBR manufacturers from Brazil, Mexico and South Korea from charges of dumping material in the US may mean that imports of all other rubbers are keeping prices down. The International...

Find new business on the web.(database of invitations to tender)(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... Many companies announce public tender information over the worldwide web. A commercial service aims to help business access that information, although it can also be found for free on an official EU site A UK company is offering a...

'99 latex conference papers selected.
June 1, 1999... The second conference in the latex series will address latex allergy issues as well as applications of synthetic latices. The conference is being hem in Akron on July 27, 28 this year The conference papers for the second International Latex...

Akron paint company seeks business in Europe.(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... Akron Paint and Varnish is trying to build a position in Europe based on its expertise in North America where it supplies all rubber markets, including many tyre factories, with cements and lubricants. The company's president feels a lack of...

Hankook shifts production.
June 1, 1999... South Korean tyre manufacturer Hankook is closing its Seoul plant in June 2000, and moving to Kumsan, with the proceeds of the sale of the Seoul site helping to fund the Kumsan expansion to a projected capacity of 26 000 units per day. ...

South Korean firm recovers from flu.
June 1, 1999... South Korea has bounced back from the Asian economic virus which sent its foreign reserves plummeting, exchange and interest rates soaring and unemployment climbing as high as 10 percent. From the Autumn of 1997, when Southeast Asia first...

Kumho launches run-flat.
June 1, 1999... [] Seoul--Kumho Tyres has announced its own self-supporting run-flat tyre, dubbed the `RFT' concept. The Korean company announced the first size--205/60R15--in its RFT series in Korea in April. Kumho said it deliberately chose a 60-series tyre...

Michelin under investigation.(for potentially limiting competition in the sales of second-hand tires for heavy vehicles)
June 1, 1999... [] France--Michelin, the French tyre maker, may be investigated, according to the European competition commissioner Karel Van Miert, in connection with its sales practices for second-hand tyres for heavy vehicles. According to Van Miert,...

Goodyear supplies intelligent tyres.
June 1, 1999... [] Goodyear is supplying `intelligent tyres' for Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike fighter plane. The tyres use an embedded transponder to sense and monitor tyre inflation pressure and temperature. The transponder includes both an integrated...

Retreader of the year.
June 1, 1999... [] Cambridge, UK--Colway Tyres, which manufactures over 1 million retread tyres a year for passenger, high performance, 4x4, and light commercial vehicles, is the winner of the 1999 `Retreader of the Year' award presented by the trade...

Edouard Michelin to succeed father at Groupe Michelin.(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... Edouard Michelin, a Groupe Michelin managing partner since 1991, and son of the head of the firm, Francois Michelin, will succeed his father as the company's most senior executive this year, pending shareholders approval at the company's annual...

ERJ people.(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... [] Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Company, a UniPoly company and industrial rubber goods manufacturer, has announced the appointment of Roger Herring as head of sales and marketing. [] Eaton Corp has appointed Jeffrey Behrendt as group...

world news.
June 1, 1999... 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 [] The Chinese has...

Active vibration control systems develop.
June 1, 1999... Car makers will soon be able to offer some models fitted with active, intelligent vibration control units, which allow the vehicle to respond to actual road conditions as they change. The systems add cost and weight, and the antivibration...

Expertise needed to combat vibration.
June 1, 1999... Makers of engine mounts are now systems engineers, with a complete understanding of vehicle dynamics, extensive R&D facilities and design skills second to none, which they use in tackling vehicle noise, vibration and harshness. ...

Carbon black meeting focuses on silica in tyres.
June 1, 1999... Better consultation between the tyre makers and the filler suppliers would allow better planning of silica capacity expansions, a recent meeting, on carbon black in Italy heard. North American carbon black producers are profitable, but are...

Injection moulding: operators' role will change.
June 1, 1999... Peter Steinl, chief executive of LWB Steinl has a vision for the future of the injection moulding business. One part of this is a change in the role of the operators, and consequently in the technology of control systems. Steinl believes one...

Adaptive cure systems can improve quality and productivity.
June 1, 1999... Adaptive cure time control--now an option on most major makes of injection moulding equipment--can reduce the overall cure cycle at the same time as improving the consistency of the cure in long runs of parts. However, companies have been slow...

IM network accepts `foreign' machines.
June 1, 1999... Maplan claims to be first to allow `foreign' machines on its proprietary network with a `universal node' which allows a central computer to download data from the machine, but not to upload mould information, or cure cycle information. ...

A layer disappears.
June 1, 1999... Once upon a time there were many process engineers in the rubber industry who really knew what each element in the compound did and why it was there. They knew how set up a line so that it delivered maximum productivity with minimum scrap. ...