European Rubber Journal articles from May 2005

European Rubber Journal archives from May 2005

Fenner to add Wellington for [pounds sterling]45 m, plans further buys.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Fenner plc is to buy Wellington Holdings plc, a specialist seal-making business based in Hampton, south of London. Fenner is offering 185 pence per Wellington share, in a deal which values Wellington at about [pounds...

Avon suffers from loss of hose business with MG Rover.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White The demise of the last UK volume car maker MG Rover, at Longbridge in the West Midlands, is bad news for the firm's many suppliers. A long-discussed deal, in which Chinese automotive major Shanghai Automotive Industry...

Briefs.
May 1, 2005... Trelleborg adds VIP-Heinke seals... Trelleborg, Sweden-Trelleborg AB has agreed to buy certain assets related to tunnel seals from UK-based VIP-Heinke Ltd that will allow Trelleborg to expand its product offering in this area. Terms of...

Lanxess rubber unit increases profit faster than sales.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Lanxess AG posted a loss at its first annual results conference. Sales for the rubber, plastics and chemicals group-spun off last year from Bayer AG-increased by 7 percent, to [euro]6773 million, while the overall net...

Crompton, Great Lakes to merge.(Great Lakes Chemical Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Polymer and speciality chemicals producer Crompton Corp. is merging with Great Lakes Chemical Corp., in a stock-swap transaction valued at $1800 million ([euro]1400 million), including about $250 million of Great Lakes debt. The new...

UK glove policy unclear as Germans, Finns say LPA solved: Part 1 of 2.(tackling latex protein allergy by changing rubber latex globes in healthcare)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White In Germany, "The NR latex allergy epidemic is over," according to Dr Henning Allmers, of the Department of Dermatology at Osnabruck University. Allmers said there is a direct linear correlation "between the decrease...

Malaysia concerned over UK glove strategy.(rubber gloves exports)
May 1, 2005... "The UK is considered a very important trading partner of Malaysia," said Peter Chin Fah Kui, Malaysian Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, giving the opening address at the 11 March meeting in London on "Selecting the right...

Malaysia largest NR latex user.(exports of natural rubber latex increased)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Malaysia has become "the world's tenth largest consumer of all rubber, the fifth largest user of NR and the leading consumer of latex," using over half a million tonnes of NR latex a year, said Chin. Malaysia is the No. 1 producer of NR...

More stories on the web.(News)
May 1, 2005... Go to www.europeanrubberjournal.com to see more news: * James Dawson gains Queen's Award for 2005... * British Vita succumbs to TPG's fourth offer, buys Italian TPE compounder... * Trelleborg acquires seals distributor in India......

Kit for allergen tests developed.(FIT Biotech developed test kits for measuring latex allergens )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Finnish company FIT Biotech of Tampere has developed a commercial test kit for measuring individual latex allergens in latex goods. The FITKit shows sufficient sensitivity and reproducibility to allow reliable means of monitoring allergen...

Preview: IRC Maastricht.(News)
May 1, 2005... 7- 9 June 2005 MECC Maastricht The Netherlands Organising Committee chair AJ Tinker The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining, IOM3 Registration and payment Member - 1 day: [euro]390 Member - 3 days:...

Tuesday 7 June, 2005.(News)
May 1, 2005... 08.00 Registration 08.50 Welcome 09.00 Official Opening by Conference Chairman; AJ Tinker (Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, UK) 09.10 Outlook and trends for the Rubber Industry in Europe; F Cinaralp (BLIC European Association of...

Wednesday 8 June 2005 Morning sessions.(News)
May 1, 2005... Session 2A: TPE. Chairman: B Statham 09.00 Keynote: The 21st Century value chain - solutions in action; U Nilsson (ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, Belgium) 09.45 Peroxide cured ethylene-propylene-diene/polypropylene (EPDM/PP)...

Wednesday 8 June 2005 Afternoon sessions.(News)
May 1, 2005... Session 3A: TPEs: Chairman: B Stathan 14.00 Recovery and fatigue properties of NRTPV; S Cook, J Patel, AJ Tinker (Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre, UK) 14.45 Effect of morphology on elastic properties of segmented block copolymers; RJ...

Thursday 9 June 2005 Morning session.(News)
May 1, 2005... Session 4A: Tyres (part 1) 09.00 Keynote: From a toroidal black hole to an intelligent black box; AR Williams (Consultant, UK) 09.45 Tyre properties and vehicle ride comfort; PP Chattaraj (JK Tyre, India) R Mukhopadhyay (Hari Shankar...

Thursday 9 June 2005 Afternoon session.(News)(Calendar)
May 1, 2005... Session 5A: Tyres (Part 2) 14.00 Preblended NR/BR - a new raw material; A Ahmad, Y Aziz (Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysia) 14.30 New additives for silica filled compounds; J Bertrand (Schill & Seilacher "Struktol" AG, Germany) ...

Exhibitor listing.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Company: Stand Alpha Technologies/Eclipse TSS bv: 840 Dynisco Eclipse Technical Software Service BV Artec Testnology: 1090 Elastocon AB Barwell International Ltd.: 400 Tech Pro Europe GmbH Battaggion Spa:...

Rubber industry on display: Part 1 of 2.(News)
May 1, 2005... The rubber industry's major international event in 2005, the International Rubber Conference IRC 2005, takes place 7-9 June at the Maastricht Exhibition and Conference Centre in the southeast corner of the Netherlands, close to the borders of...

Amtel completes purchase of Vredestein Banden.(News)(Amtel Holdings Holland NV)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Russian group Amtel Holdings Holland NV has completed its acquisition of Dutch tyre maker Vredestein Banden BV for [euro]195.6 million in cash. Amtel Holdings Holland NV is the parent company of the Amtel Group, a major...

Eliokem opens antioxidant plant in Ningbo, China.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Since its spin-off from Goodyear Chemical Co. in 2001, Eliokem has expanded both in terms of the markets it serves and its geographical spread. The company now has a plant in China and is steadily developing sales into...

BMW dominates runflat tyres as PAX goes down; BMW buying 80 percent of world's runflat tyres, but says low-pressure warning system needs to be improved.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Runflat tyres are here to stay. In 2005, BMW AG will buy 4 million units, according to Hans-Rudolf Hein, in charge of tyre technology at the car maker. This 4 million represents over 80 percent of total global demand,...

Michelin to make earthmover tyres in Brazil.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Groupe Michelin will spend about $200 million through mid-2007 to build a plant for earthmover tyres in Brazil to serve customers in South and North America. Michelin said the project, due on stream by the second half of 2007, is in...

Bridgestone to boost runflats share.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Minekazu Fujimura said runflat tyres form one of the most important elements of Bridgestone's strategy in Europe. He said many of the OE manufacturers are looking at runflat tyres, so these products are of strategic importance to Bridgestone,...

Conti aims for No 3 slot.(News)(Continental)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Continental said it has a very strong original equipment programme. Andreas Esser, head of global OEM tyres at Continental said, "We see ourselves as No 1 in the EU, very close to Michelin. In the US we are No 4 and aim for No 3 by the end of...

Tyre makers have defrayed raw material price increases.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw The cost of raw materials is rising sharply, as oil prices soar. ERJ spoke to tyre makers at the Geneva motor show, and all said that the increase was having an effect on their business. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co....

More stories on the web.(News)
May 1, 2005... Don't miss out on the news. Go to www.europeanrubberjournal.com to see these stories. * Michelin expanding at Dundee, raising OTR capacity in Spain, US... * Trelleborg forms tyre sales JV in Mid-east... * Conti wins [euro]40-m...

Briefs.
May 1, 2005... Goodyear moving Asia/Pacific HQ to China Shanghai, China-Goodyear is establishing its Asia/Pacific headquarters in Shanghai and stepping up efforts to procure more materials from China for its global operations. Conti breaks off...

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries builds in China; Japanese tyre machinery firm investing in China, but seeks growth in Europe and North America.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Despite tough competition from local firms, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has seen rapid growth in sales of its tyre machinery in the People's Republic of China in the last two years, primarily as a result of global tyre...

Goodyear moving east in Europe; Goodyear says its plants in eastern Europe are now making more high-performance tyres, and that Russian tyre making is on the horizon.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. is slowly but steadily moving manufacturing of higher performance tyres to its factories in eastern Europe. According to Jarro Kaplan, head of Goodyear's EMEA region, Goodyear factories in...

Bridgestone to build $300m truck tyre plant in Huizhou, China.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Bridgestone Corp.will invest [euro]231million in its fourth tyre plant in China, at Huizhou-making radial truck and bus tyres. The facility, due on stream by January 2007, should reach its full daily output of 5000 tyres by the first half...

More stories on the web.(News)
May 1, 2005... Don't miss out. Go to www.europeanrubberjournal.com to see these stories. * Pirelli tyre posts 10-year high in earnings... * Gadjah Tunggal has 20% sales rise... * Alliance Tire returns to profit in 2004... * Sumitomo reports...

Polyester use growing in Asia, say speciality suppliers.(News)
May 1, 2005... Polyester use growing in Asia, say speciality suppliers Two suppliers at the Tire Technology Expo reported increasing use of polyester tyre reinforcement materials in Asia. While polyester use globally is only growing at about 2-3...

JET Laser for marking tyres - and cutting prototype treads? Laser unit for tyre marking could be used to cut prototype tread patterns.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw One of the continuing bottlenecks in tyre development is the need for hand cutting of prototype tyre treads. This remains a highly skilled job, and it can take up to four days to cut a single tyre. The operator uses a...

Hagglunds offers best of both mixer rotor worlds.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... We have developed a new control system- the MRC-for "Maximum Rotor Control," according to Lars Lattstrom, marketing manager for process industries with Hagglunds Drives AB. The controller "allows the users to deliver maximum control over the...

Briefs.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Flexsys proposes $18.5-m settlement San Francisco-Rubber chemicals supplier Flexsys NV and its US affiliate Flexsys America LP are proposing an $18.5-million ([euro]14.2-million) settlement of class-action suits against them pertaining to...

More cars to come, better braking needed, says Michelin.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... According to Didier Miraton, head of innovation at Michelin, the number of vehicles on the roads will double within 20 years. By 2010, he said, Michelin aims to reduce wear on a truck tyre by half, and to introduce that technology across...

Matador: Based in Slovakia but finds China cheaper.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Matador has recently won some good orders, according to Stefan Kukucka, product manager with the company. Kukucka said the company has good relations with the Moscow tyre factory, and these good relations have continued even since the collapse...

Pirelli: more MIRS and US drive.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... According to Francesco Gori, Pirelli is expanding its MIRS operations, with three new lines due to be brought in in each of three consecutive quarters. In the final quarter of 2004, the company put in a new line in Breuberg, Germany, the...

Yokohama consolidates Advan brand.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Yokohama is bringing all its high-end tyres under the same Advan name. The company previously used a variety of brands and names to sell UHP tyres in different parts of the world but, according to Satoshi Miura, deputy general manager of the...

Diary.(Calendar)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2005... * Brityrex International 2005. 10-12 May: Harrogate, UK. Contact ECI. Tel +44 1892 770777, fax +44 1892 770888. * 21st Autopromotec. 18-22 May: Bologna. Contact Promotec srl. Tel +39 051 733000, +39 051 733008. * IRC 2005: Creating...

Car, truck registrations fall as oil prices continue to rise.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... 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...

Find those failure modes.(Column)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw A the recent Tire Technology Expo, Tim Davis, the first main speaker, gave his job function as a statistical engineer. He now works for Ford, but previously worked under Roger Williams at Dunlop in the UK. He did not...

GDX team changes.(News)(Appointments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... GDX has made the following appointments recently: * Klaus-Peter Maass became director of product development sealing Europe, reporting to Mark Krupp, new executive vice president and group president, International Operations (Europe and...

Stronger ties with customers.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... For GDX, addition of the SaarGummi units will strengthen its relationships with "General Motors, Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler and Ford, while giving us a new platform in Mexico," said GDX Automotive chairman and ceo Morris Rowlett, in a company...

Dana supplies Hummer hoses.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Dana Corp. will supply power-steering hose assemblies for General Motors' 2005 Hummer H3 (pictured). The hoses are made from a range of elastomers, including chlorosulphonated polyethylene, said a Dana spokesperson. Dana said its...

ContiTech to make vibration control parts in China.(News)(ContiTech Vibration Control GmbH)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Continental AG is setting up a joint venture in China to make antivibration components for Chinese vehicle makers. ContiTech Vibration Control GmbH and Chinese automotive supplier Ningbo Jiebao in Ninghai, China, have agreed to form a JV in...

Briefs.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Parker Hannifin sets up JV in China Cleveland, Ohio-Parker Hannifin Corp. is teaming up with China's Tianjin Tejing Hydraulics Co. Ltd to produce hydraulic components and systems at a joint venture in China. Parker Hannifin will be the...

UK glove policy unclear as Germans, Finns say LPA solved: Part 2 of 2.(risks associated with the usage of surgical rubber gloves, latex protein allergy )
May 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Allergens, not proteins, are the vital factor Turjanmaa stressed that measuring proteins, often specified in regulatory approaches, is not satisfactory, since it is the allergenic nature of the proteins which is the...

Rubber industry on display: Part 2 of 2.(News)
May 1, 2005... Kenrich: 640 Kenrich will be showing its range of additives and coupling agents, including Ken-React titanate, zirconate and aluminate coupling agents. Benefits include lower Mooney viscosity and faster processing at lower temperatures;...

ETRTO: Slow progress on rolling-resistance standard; Attempts to develop absolute rolling resistance test for tyres are showing success, but inter-laboratory variation needs further work, reports ERTO working party leader.(News)(European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Shaw The European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation's (ETRTO) working party on rolling resistance is close to reporting, but with only partial success. The working party has been charged to develop a test and methodology...

SaarGummi sells units to GDX adds ElaTech in Europe.(News)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Liz White Saargummi has sold its operations in Quebec, Canada, and Mexico to GDX Automotive. GDX said the deal covers ongoing business in vehicle sealing parts, glass encapsulation and moulded rubber products, with a total of some...