European Rubber Journal articles from June 2000

European Rubber Journal archives from June 2000

Trelleborg aims to be the best in AVS.(Company Profile)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Raising comfort in customers' cars is the aim for Trelleborg's newly enlarged vibration control business, whether it is by switchable hydromounts, new active noise-cancellation systems, or sound deadening laminates Trelleborg's new...

The production wheel.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... The wheel, in this context, is the most efficient production cycle in a given EPDM manufacturing facility. Typically, a full wheel will last 6 months or so, and will move through a range of several tens of different grades of EPDM. The sequence...

Phoenix buys UK oil-hose maker.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Phoenix continues globalisation strategy by buying UK specialist hose maker K&B Beattie. Meanwhile economic prospects in Germany look better and Phoenix's first quarter results reflect this improvement. Diversified rubber products maker...

Bosch, Siemens to buy Atecs Mannesmann unit.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Mannesmann's Atecs group with its Boge rubber-to-metal bonding unit and Berstorff rubber extruder maker is bought by Bosch, Siemens. Mannesmann AG has agreed to sell its Atecs Mannesmann AG engineering and automotive unit to Robert Bosch...

TI merges aerospace sealing units.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Shamban is new aerospace seals supplier, formed from various TI Group units. The UK-based TI Group has combined four of its aerospace sealing businesses to create Shamban, part of the TI Group Specialty Polymer Products business. The unit...

ERJ newsbriefs.(European Rubber Journal)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Trelleborg bid for Danish roofing firm Icopal [] Trelleborg, Sweden--Trelleborg AB has bid DKK3500 million ($423 million) for all the shares in Danish-based Icopal A/S, which had 1999 sales of around DKK5000 million, about 80 percent of...

Thona and Saar Gummiwerk form sealing JV.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... New vehicle body sealing plant in Tennessee set up by German/Canadian venture Thona Corp. and Germany's Saar-Gummiwerk GmbH have formed a US joint venture to produce vehicle body sealing. The new partners will spend $15 million to build a...

Swedish owner renames Metalastik.(Supplier of AVS parts becomes Trelleborg Industrial AVS.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Supplier of AVS parts becomes Trelleborg Industrial AVS. Metalastik, which supplies suspension and antivibration systems to the rail, marine and bus industries, has been renamed Trelleborg Industrial AVS, following the recent acquisition of...

Dow clear to take full control of BSL.(Buna Sow Leuna Olefinverbund GmbH)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... The European Commission has cleared Dow Chemical's acquisition of the remaining 20 percent shares in Buna Sow Leuna Olefinverbund GmbH (BSL) from German privatisation agency Bundesanstalt fur vereinigungsbedingte Sonderaufgaben (BvS). BSL,...

Ansell acquires condom business.(Johnson and Johnson Medical Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Ansell buys Johnson & Johnson's Canadian condom business following its recent takeover of the firm's medical glove business. Ansell Healthcare Products Inc. will acquire Johnson & Johnson Medical's Canadian condom business in a deal that...

Latex exam glove market to grow.(Frost and Sullivan Inc. report)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... The US market for disposable latex examination gloves will continue to grow in the next six years. Research by Frost & Sullivan Inc. published in the report, "US Disposable Medical Examination Glove Markets," indicates health care providers...

Cannon wins award.(Queen's Award for Innovation)
June 1, 2000... Two silicone rubber parts are crucial to the design of a new breast pump which has won its designers, Cannon Avent Group plc, a UK Queen's Award for Innovation. Cannon Avent's baby division designed and developed the Avent ISIS breast pump to...

Seismic joints use new TPE grade.(from Advanced Elastomer Systems )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... [] Expansion joints to help protect a Californian hospital in an earthquake are the first use for the new Santoprene 8000 UV grade from Advanced Elastomer Systems NV/SA. The one-metre wide joints, developed by the C/S Group Inc., are the...

Preferred, Kraiburg ink ventures pact.(information-sharing agreement)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Compounders Gummiwerk Kraiburg and Preferred Rubber sign deal to cooperate in roll coverings. German rubber compounder, Gummiwerk Kraiburg GmbH & Co has formed a partnership with Preferred Rubber Compounding Corp. to share and gain...

German SBS plant comes under Kraton control.(Kraton Polymers may be moving closer to being sold by Shell Chemicals)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Shell Chemicals' TPE unit Kraton Polymers moves closer to independence by taking control of its Wesseling, Germany production unit for styrenic block copolymers. But there is no news yet on a potential purchaser for the global leader in...

MA Hanna, Geon to unite polymer units.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... $3500 million turnover plastics, rubber and TPE compounding business formed as Hanna and Geon unite. MA Hanna Co., based in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Geon Co. of Avon Lake, Ohio, are to consolidate their global operations to create what...

Goodrich to sell off materials business.(Elastomer and TPU businesses)
June 1, 2000... Elastomer and TPU businesses to be divested: BF Goodrich feels these units need to triple in size for continued success. BF Goodrich Co. will divest its performance materials business, including thermoplastic polyurethanes and elastomers,...

Armstrong exits rubber with $280m AIP sale.(Armstrong Insulation Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Building sector supplier Armstrong World Industries sells foamed polymer insulation unit to Dutch investment firm Gilde. Armstrong World Industries Inc. is selling its Armstrong Insulation Products division to Dutch investment company Gilde...

Avon Rubber to close UK plant to lower costs.(Cow Polymers plant)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Continued turbulence in UK automotive supply sector forces Avon to consider the future of its Cow Polymers unit. Avon Rubber plc is preparing to close its Cow Polymers operation, which employs 150 people in Croydon, UK, as part of a...

Belting firm Fenner has 100 million [pounds sterling] to spend.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Hull, UK-based conveyor belt maker Fenner has cash available for growing its core businesses. Fenner Plc has 100 million [pounds sterling] ($153 million) to spend on developing its conveyor belting and precision engineered polymer products...

Tyre news.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Michelin to cut 1880 jobs in French restructure [] Clermont-Ferrand, France--Groupe Michelin will restructure and consolidate tyre manufacturing and support activities at four sites in France this year, resulting in 1880 job cuts. The...

ERJ people.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Wilson joins team at Silvertown sales [] Burton on Trent, UK-based Silvertown UK Ltd has appointed Scott Wilson product sales manager with responsibility for sales of the company's industrial rubber products and precision mouldings. ...

Inflation spurs Turkish rubber workers strike.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2000... Turkish tyre workers strike for wage rises to meet effects of high inflation--but are forced back to work by government Turkey's government has intervened to halt a strike which hit the country's major tyre plants owned by Goodyear, Pirelli...

Toyo and Michelin in vibration control link.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Following a recent spate of links between AVS suppliers, Toyo and Michelin confirm their collaboration to supply Renault-Nissan Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. and Groupe Michelin are to jointly supply antivibration system (AVS) components for new...

Smallholders dominate NR plantings, says IRSG.(natural rubber; International Rubber Study Group)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Small farmers continue to grow the majority of the world's natural rubber supply, and a fair amount of untapped material exists. Data on areas of the world planted with natural rubber show clearly that, with the exception of China and Sri...

Rubber optimism plain at Plast 2000 show.
June 1, 2000... Rubber machinery and suppliers who were displaying their wares at Plast 2000 in Milan are doing good business across Europe and the US--and they see this continuing. Machinery makers exhibiting at the Plast 2000 exhibition in Milan, 8-13...

Silicone rubber available in pellets for first time.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Wacker Chemie has developed a new range of silicone rubber in the form of free-flowing granules, in addition to the standard liquid and solid forms. This pellet form may take up to 30 percent of the silicone rubber market, said Dr...

Suppliers plan web marketplace.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... A group of polymer suppliers is leading the race to develop a web-based marketplace specifically for the rubber industry. Their vision is to create a home for the rubber industry on the web, with trading, news, information, tech service and...

Tyre makers join to form marketplace.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Seven top tyre makers agree to set up web purchasing site with help from McKinsey and a (as yet un-named) technology partner. The world's seven largest tyre and rubber product makers have joined to launch a global e-commerce purchasing and...

Freudenberg goes interactive.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Innovative rubber processor plans e-business site for buying and selling goods and components. Freudenberg-NOK GP is taking its lean ways from the factory floor to the boardroom. The manufacturer will launch an e-business pilot for its...

Auto suppliers align to form Web venture.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Dana Corp. and five other auto parts makers want to manage their supply chain better and believe an Internet-based venture is the way to achieve it. Dana is in talks with France's Valeo SA, Eaton Corp., Motorola Inc., TRW Inc. and Delphi...

Communication is key.(rubber industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Internet standardisation and customer familiarity primary in service, panel says. E-commerce and better communication are the best ways to reduce costs and improve service for end-users, a panel of hose and component manufacturers told...

New team to double Marangoni turnover.
June 1, 2000... Marangoni SpA is transferring leadership from the old generation to the new. Mario Marangoni is retiring, leaving the company strategy to a younger relative and his team of managers. The older generation left the younger with a challenge:...

Chips monitor off-road tyres.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... Tagging systems could help the mining industry, according to a speaker at a recent US tyre conference. Tyre chip systems measuring operating temperature and air pressure in off-the-road tyres soon may be available to help mining operations...

Bridgestone and Topy unveil next-generation wheel.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... In Japan, Bridgestone Corp. and Topy Industries have developed a prototype wheel that employs a rubber layer between the rim and disc to achieve a quieter, more-comfortable ride and better vehicle handling. With conventional wheels,...

Pirelli introduces web-only tyre.
June 1, 2000... At the Geneva Motor Show, Pirelli announced the P2500 Euro, a tyre designed specifically to be marketed over the world wide web--but only in Europe. Although the product offers few technical innovations, the thinking behind the marketing...

UK exposure to fume falls.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... AUK study into the exposure of workers in the rubber industry to curing fumes has shown that exposure levels are falling. This is probably due to lower minimum exposure limits enshrined by the legislation. The two-year study looked at...

DSM warns of tight supply in EPDM.(rubber industry)
June 1, 2000... Leading supplier warns that supply of EPDM is now tight, and continued growth in the market means the position will probably become as bad as it was three years ago. DSM Elastomers expects EPDM prices to increase in the coming months, as...

Portfolio shifting.(rubber industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... As with any material, some grades are more attractive to suppliers than others. So let us suppose that company X (a supplier of EPDM) has a series of accounts which generate different levels of profit. Currently, X sells a lot of material into...

Web sites -- it's all a mystery.(rubber industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2000... In the last couple of months, we have heard a series of announcements about e-commerce in the rubber industry: First, the rubber suppliers joined together to announce a joint venture which will sell goods and services in to the rubber industry....