European Rubber Journal articles from May 1999

European Rubber Journal archives from May 1999

Veritas to open new Mexican assembly plant.
May 1, 1999... Veritas is increasing its presence in North America with a new hose plant to serve the VW Beetle project and in Europe with its biggest ever order for GM. Hose maker Veritas AG of Gelnhausen, Germany, will officially open its Puebla,...

Mannesmann plant to begin production.
May 1, 1999... Mannesmann Boge is investing $3 million in a new plant in Poland. The unit is due on stream later this year. Mannesmann Boge GmbH is set to begin producing anti-vibration components in Poland this summer. The company invested about $3...

US firm buys French rubber moulder.
May 1, 1999... Mitchell Rubber products of the US has bought GCI SA in France and gained a European base for automotive supply. An affiliate of Mitchell Rubber Products Inc. of Mira Loma, California, has bought 100 percent control of Meyzieu, Lyon,...

Amorim aims at OE supply.
May 1, 1999... Portugal's Amorim Group has consolidated its worldwide cork-rubber companies, hoping to gain more business with its original equipment and Tier 1 customers. The move is "part of the whole direction of (auto makers) reducing their supply...

Thailand to quit INRO; Malaysia to restrict exports.
May 1, 1999... Malaysia and Thailand are planning to restrict production and cut exports of rubber. Meanwhile, Indonesia has pledged to honour its $4 million commitment to INRO. The future of the organisation remains in doubt. Thailand has moved to...

ERJ newsbrief.
May 1, 1999... Laird earnings drop [] London--An operating loss of more than $26 million by Laird Group plc's Draftex Inc car body sealing operation in the US dragged Laird's sealing system business into the red last year and contributed to a 74-percent...

General Cable to buy BICC energy cables business.
May 1, 1999... BICC is to exit general cables manufacturing with the pending sale of its international energy cables business to General Cable Corp. of the US for $365 million. The deal makes General Cable the third largest cable-producing company globally....

ContiTech realigns for higher returns.
May 1, 1999... ContiTech Group, the technical rubber goods part of Hannover-based tyre maker Continental AG., saw sales in 1998 up 7.7 percent to DM3333 million ($1836 million), although earnings were below the 1997 level. ContiTech attributed the lower...

Bandag concerned over retread regulations.
May 1, 1999... Bandag is concerned about ECE recommendations 108/109, which include a requirement on all retreaders active in Europe to submit a number of their retreads for testing. Lennart Lindstrom, one of the firm's executives, presented data showing...

MBO at UK wire maker.
May 1, 1999... Wire maker National Standard Co. Ltd in Kidder-minster, UK, has undergone a management buy-out from parent company National Standard Co. of Niles, Michigan, US, and is now an independent unit, called NS (Eurowire) Ltd. As part of the deal,...

Manager indicted at Michelin Italy.
May 1, 1999... [] Turin, italy--The former president and managing director of Michelin Italy, Emanuel Daubree, has been imprisoned for 18 months following his conviction for the culpable homicide of 11 workers and injuries to a further 10 workers at the...

UK company fined following death.
May 1, 1999... [] Birmingham, UK.--Dunlop Tyres Ltd has been fined 100 000 [pounds sterling] for breach of health and safety rules following the death last year of former employee Scott Dixon who died after being trapped in a machine at the company's Fort...

Kwik-Fit sells out to Ford.
May 1, 1999... [] London--Just clays after announcing its annual results, Kwik-Fit Holdings plc was acquired by Ford for a total of 1000 million [pounds sterling] ($1600 million). Sir Tom Farmer, group chief executive will remain in charge of the Kwik-Fit...

Norcros offers water-based adhesives to tyre industry.
May 1, 1999... Water-based adhesives are displacing solvent-based systems in the tyre retreading sector and in general rubber goods, while Norcros Adhesives says it is gaining some success in the new tyre market as well. Norcros Adhesives claims that its...

Lord sees growing demand for water-based adhesives.
May 1, 1999... Lord Corp. is finding there is a rising demand for aqueous adhesives in the rubber-to-metal bonding market. "You find once someone uses waterborne adhesives, they never want to go back" said Mark Weih, manager of automotive adhesives. ...

Wacker has a disappointing year.
May 1, 1999... The silicones business of Wacker Chemie GmbH was a bright spot in what was otherwise a poor year in 1998 for the Munich, Germany-based company, with earnings before interest and tax at 56 percent of the 1997 level. WaCker Chemie GmbH's...

AlliedSignal to make tyre fibre in China.
May 1, 1999... AlliedSignal Inc has finalised plans to expand production of its latest dimensionally stable polyster (DSP) fibres in the People's Republic of China, to meet increasing demand for polyester tyre cord in Asia's tyre industry. The emerging...

Michelin expects sales to increase.
May 1, 1999... Following a strike-related drop in earnings last year, Groupe Michelin expects sales this year to increase by about 4 percent as the firm takes advantage of new capacities brought on stream during 1998. Net profits last year fell by 8.5...

Pirelli earnings and sales up in 1998.
May 1, 1999... Italian tyre and cables maker Pirelli SpA had higher profits in 1998, but net sales 6 percent lower than the previous year, largely as a result of lower prices. Pirelli sees mixed prospects for the coming year, with its internal cost reduction...

Personnel.
May 1, 1999... [] UCAPLAST, based in Paris, (Union des Industries et de la Distribution des Plastiques et du Caoutchouc), has appointed BERNARD MASSAS as director general. M Massas was previously president of SYNAST (Syndicat National du soudage des feuilles...

world news.
May 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 Beijing, China [] China's...

DSM plans leadership campaign.
May 1, 1999... DSM Elastomers is developing new structures and new strategies under president Paul Hamm. The company--global leader in the EPDM supply sector--is abandoning work on metallocene catalysts, to buy metallocene grades from other players in...

INRO finally bites the dust.
May 1, 1999... As I write, in mid-April, Thailand has officially given notice that it intends to leave the International Natural Rubber Organisation (INRO); Malaysia and Thailand are making plans to stockpile domestic rubber production and Malaysia at least,...