European Rubber Journal articles from May 2000

European Rubber Journal archives from May 2000

New UK rubber moulding group formed.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Investment company Grove Industries backs new UK rubber grouping, centred around ex-Fenner rubber mouldings unit. Investment company Grove Industries has set up a new 20-million [pounds sterling] ($32-million) turnover UK rubber moulding...

Hutchinson and Tokai Rubber in hose alliance.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Hose systems alliance between Hutchinson and Tokai Rubber will serve Renault-Nissan's need for global supply for its joint platforms. TotalFinaElf subsidiary Hutchinson and Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd of Japan have formed an alliance for...

ERJ newsbriefs.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... New Honeywell Plant in China * Morris Township, New Jersey/Suzhou, China--Honeywell's Specialty Chemicals (HSC) business has broken ground on a new multi-million dollar industrial wax facility in Suzhou, China, Honeywell announced 5 April....

Walter Schiesser.(Obituary)
May 1, 2000... * Walter Schiesser, a well-known figure in the rubber industry, died in March. Schiesser was an expert in extrusion and other aspects of rubber processing and propagated his ideas with much enthusiasm. Schiesser's company, Schiesser Rubber...

Milliken commits to UK compounds unit.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... New name and focus for UK compounder as speciality elastomers unit of Miliken Chemicals. UK rubber compounder WOM Polymers of Middleton, near Manchester, now a business unit of Milliken Chemical, is to be renamed Speciality Elastomers and...

Huber to buy Akzo-PQ silica business.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Akzo-Nobel plans to withdraw from white fillers activity, selling its share in Akzo-PQ silica to Huber. JM Huber Corp. has signed a letter of intent to purchase the silica white fillers business of Akzo-PQ Silica (APS), the 50-50 joint...

Apology.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2000... In the March 2000 issue Rubber Machinery Listings, we mistakenly stated that Carter Bros' future plans were to close its mixing machinery operations. Instead we should have stated its future plans were to consolidate. Carter Bros has notified...

HSE concerned by fatal UK ground rubber blaze.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Ground rubber igniting at recycling plant caused the fire which led to a worker's death. The UK's Health & Safety Executive is investigating a fatal fire at a Stockport plant which manufactures ground rubber for use in the manufacture of...

US plant recovery seals Laird gains.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Automotive profiles and antivibration systems supplier Laird reports 1999 profits up $30 million on level sales. Laird Group plc reported profits before exceptional items and tax of 60.7 million [pounds sterling] ($97.1 million) for last...

Boot factory in Liverpool under threat.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Production of wellington boots by Hevea in the UK is under review as the strong pound makes manufacture in the UK uncompetitive. The future of boot production at Dunlop Hevea in Liverpool, which currently manufactures 800 000 pairs of...

Trelleborg to invest in Tivoli.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Trelleborg Wheel Systems will invest $14 million this year to modernise and upgrade manufacturing facilities at its joint-venture farm-tyre plant in Tivoli, Italy. The company, the tyre and wheel division of Trelleborg AB, is also...

Vredestein JV for bike tyres.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Vredestein NV is finalising a deal to set up a Malaysian-based bicycle tyre production joint venture with Fung Keong Rubber Manufactory (M) Sdn Bhd, which already partners the Dutch firm in an industrial tyres operation in Malaysia. Under plans...

US market aim by Marangoni.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Marangoni Tyre is expecting to attack the US tyre market during, the coming year. Andrea Vassura, head of Marangoni's tyre division, said he expects to sell between 150 000 and 200 000 car tyres there in 2001. He hopes to achieve this by...

Boge moving closer to customers.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... The Boge unit of Arecs Mannesmann has a new Slovakian plant and aims to set up in Russia this year also. Atecs Mannesmann AG's Boge unit began production of conventional vibration control parts in January at a renovated plant in Trnava,...

Conti rules out plans to bid for Atecs units.(Continental AG)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Continental AG will not bid for any part of the Atecs Mannesmann AG automotive and engineering business, but is not ruling out "cooperation" with parts of business, Conti officials said at a 5 April results press conference. Conti is...

Michelin cut on schedule.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Job cuts totalling 1300 have been identified by Groupe Michelin, which is on schedule with its three-year plan to cut 10 percent of its 75 000-strong European workforce, the company said at its 14 Mar results meeting. Michelin's UK tyre...

Pacific Dunlop halts Ansell flotation.
May 1, 2000... Glove maker Ansell is no longer being floated. Lack of interest in industrial stocks is one reason. Pacific Dunlop Ltd has cancelled its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares in Ansell Healthcare Inc. on the New York Stock...

Pirelli plans grounding in Internet commerce.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Italian tyre-maker Pirelli plans for e-business in a big way and will build five plants with its new robotised modular tyre production system by the end of 2002. Pirelli SpA will invest nearly $1000 million in the next three years to...

Nokian weighs forestry tyre-making options.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Nokian plans to make its forestry tyres in the US--either on its own or in an alliance with a domestic producer. Nokian Tyres plc wants to make forestry and industrial tyres in North America, but hasn't decided whether to build its own...

Ruberoid buy add rubber to IKO's portfolio.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... IKO Sales of Canada adds rubber roofing to its roofing products range with its acquisition of UK-based Ruberoid. Canadian roofing products company IKO Sales Ltd has entered the rubber business by purchasing Ruberoid plc and its European and...

Margins buoy new-look Wellington.(Wellington Holdings PLC)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Wellington optimistic about growth prospects for its seals business following last year's sales of its compounding unit. Encouraged by the second-half performance of its industrial and engineering seals businesses in 1999, Wellington...

ERJ people.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... All change at Dow * Dow Chemical Co.'s restructured management--in preparation for its anticipated merger with Union Carbide Corp--sees Kathleen Bader having responsibility for rubber products, while Andrew Liveris will head Dow's...

Dow to acquire General Latex, with six US plants.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Dow Chemical's latex and polyurethane systems capacity are expanded by its purchase of US-based General Latex. Dow Chemical Co. is to acquire General Latex and Chemical Corp., a $100-million turnover supplier of rigid polyurethane system...

Bayer margins hit by high costs, low prices.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Sales up 6 percent, but profits drop by 4 percent at German rubber major. Polymers remains Bayer AG's largest business segment in terms of sales. Its six polymer business groups posted total revenues in 1999 of ?? 9300 million ($9160...

Lord to build rubber-to-metal bonding facility.(in China)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Lord Corp continues to push to expand its global manufacturing ability, building a new plant to make rubber-to-metal-bonded parts in China. Lord Corp's Mechanical Products Division is expanding its global reach with the construction of a...

world news.(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... 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 Indonesia: Second largest NR...

Helvoet investigates alliance options.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Dutch producer of precision elastomer parts Helvoet Holding NV is considering whether to open a branch in the NAFTA region, and also evaluating prospects for strengthening its European position via strategic alliances or acquisitions. ...

Indian news briefs.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Difficult times for Indian tyre sector * Chennai, India--Conditions in the Indian tyre industry are currently extremely difficult, according to KM Mammen Mappillai, chairman and managing director of local tyre maker MRF, speaking at the...

IRC 2000 scheduled for Helsinki in June.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Europe's rubber experts are invited to come to Helsinki in June to participate in Europe's biggest dedicated rubber event of the year. The IRC 2000 comprises an exhibition and conference. The compact exhibition will allow delegates to ask...

New curing agent from Bayer.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Bayer's Vulcuren product should help tyre makers and others who mould large rubber products to avoid reversion, and reduce cure times. Bayer has come up with a novel curing agent which should improve quality and may eventually reduce cost,...

SR prices set to rise.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Bayer's business managers explain why prices are on the increase, arguing that the customers drove prices down when the market was oversupplied, but now that supply is getting tight... Bayer AG's rubber group is set to increase prices for...

Rubber replacement triggers TPE efforts.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Despite growing pressure on prices, the rewards are still available for players in the thermoplastic elastomer sector that bring performance solutions and systems cost savings to the market. This was the clear message from TPE suppliers during...

Russian SR, tyre industries start to recover.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Following two years of turmoil after the currency was devalued, the Russian economy no longer relies wholly on barter, while demand for tyres is booming.... Now is the time to invest in tyre manufacture in the Russian Federation, according...

The beast of raw materials pricing.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Some rubber processors have forgotten about price rises from their raw materials suppliers. Over the next few months they will be reminded with double force. As pressure from the auto side to cut costs has mounted, the focus in most...