European Rubber Journal articles from November 2000

European Rubber Journal archives from November 2000

Phoenix and Goodyear to share auto hose facilities.(Phoenix Automotive, Goodyear Engineered Products)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Hose makers Phoenix in Germany and Goodyear in the US set up global alliance in automotive coolant hose supply Phoenix Automotive GmbH of Hamburg, and Goodyear Engineered Products, based in Akron, Ohio, have formed a technical and...

McNeil moves machinery production to Romania.(McNeil and NRM Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... French-owned machinery maker ends manufacturing in Akron, moves it to Romania, to save money Tyre industry machinery maker McNeil & NRM Inc. has moved its prime equipment production to Romania and nearly halved employment at its Akron...

Visteon and Nichirin in JV, shares purchase deal.(Visteon Corp. and Nichirin Company Ltd. partners in joint venture)(Brief Article)(Column)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2000... US auto supply giant and Japanese hose maker form European IV in hose systems Visteon Corp. and Nichirin Co. Ltd of Himeji-City, Japan, are to link via an automotive hose joint venture in the Czech Republic. US tier-one automotive supplier...

Laird sells Draftex unit to Gencorp for $207 million.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Laird finally finds a buyer for troubled Draflex. Laird Group plc has agreed to sell its Draftex car body sealing systems business to GenCorp Inc. of Sacramento, California, for 243 million [European Dollar] ($207 million), the companies...

Smiths Industries to acquire TI Group.
November 1, 2000... $1400-million turnover sealing systems group will be an integral part of new $4500-million turnover engineering group. Smiths Industries plc plans to acquire TI Group plc to form a merged engineering group with sales of around 3000 million...

ERJ newsbriefs.(rubber industry)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2000... Covisint holds first auction * Detroit, Michigan--Automotive exchange Covisint has begun live auctions over the site. Arvin-Meritor Inc., a supplier of corner modules, exhaust systems and vehicle roof modules, began purchasing...

US is key to growth.(Europower PLC expands, United States key to growth plans)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2000... Europower plc regards the US as key to its growth plans, according to Mark Swaby, chairman of the group. Europower supplies hose, couplings and assemblies, to OEMs and distributors in about 60 countries worldwide. Europower has invested...

Sid Richardson to buy Cancarb and power plant.(Sid Richardson Carbon and Gasoline Co. to purchase Cancard Ltd.)(Brief Article)(Column)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2000... US-based furnace black supplier expands with acquisition of Canadian thermal black producer Sid Richardson Carbon Co. is to purchase Cancarb Ltd and a 47-megawatt power plant being built near Cancarb's thermal carbon black facility in...

Laporte divests Alpha-Gary TPE unit.(thermoplastic elastomer)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Thermoplastic elastomer compounder AlphaGary and other Laporte units sold to MBO group for $1175 million. Laporte plc is to sell its AlphaGary thermoplastic elastomer business. A management buy-out group led by US private equity firm...

Nordmann Rassmann and J Allcock cooperate.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... German and UK suppliers to cooperate in fluoroelastomer crumb material. J Allcock & Sons Ltd has started a cooperation arrangement with Nordmann Rassmann GmbH & Co. of Hamburg, Germany, for the supply of raw materials and additives to the...

Phoenix Vibracoustic triples airspring capacity.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Phoenix Vibracoustic GmbH has started production at a new expanded air spring manufacturing operation at its headquarters in Hamburg-Harburg, Germany. This advanced 3600-[m.sup.2] production unit for air springs will substantially raise...

Pusan, Korea for ITEC 2001.(International Tyre Exhibition and Conference)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... ITEC, the world's premier tyre exhibition and conference, is going international. The 2001 event is currently being organised, and the venue is the Coex conference hall conference hall in Pusan, South Korea. The dates are 9 to 11 October, 2001....

Cooper to cut 1100 non-tyre jobs worldwide.(Cooper Tire and Rubber Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2000... Major restructuring is designed to save costs in the wake of large non-tyre rubber goods acquisitions. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is to cut about 1100 jobs under a restructuring plan. The plan is due to be complete by the end of 2001 and...

SNCP plans to stop industry profits squeeze.(Syndicat National du Caoutchouc et des Polymeres)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... French rubber and polymer industry body, Syndicat National du Caoutchouc et des Polymeres (SNCP) wants joint action by European rubber processors to counter the current pressure on margins. At a meeting on 15 Sept, SNCP decided to ask...

ERS people.
November 1, 2000... Hutchings quits Tomkins * London--Tomkins plc announced on 12 Oct that Greg Hutchings resigned as a director and chief executive, three days after the launch of an internal review into current and past business practices. The review...

Shin- Etsu and GE to form silicone monomer JV.(Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd, GE Silicone)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Japanese and US joint venture to make silicone raw materials at plant in South-east Asia Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd and GE Silicones are to establish a joint venture by the end of the year to manufacture silanes and siloxanes at a new...

Ausimont to build FKM plant.(fluoroelastomer)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Ausimont SpA's North American subsidiary, Ausimont USA Inc. is to build a $20-million fluoroelastomer plant beside its established fluoropolymer facility in Thorofare, New Jersey, which is due to come on stream early in 2002. Demand for...

Elastomers not affected in DSM restructuring.(DSM Elastomers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... DSM Elastomers is not affected by its parent group's plans to transform itself into a life sciences and performance materials company, according to a DSM spokesman. "As part of our performance materials business, it [DSM Elastomers] is not...

Michelin to cease tyre production at Stoke.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2000... Groupe Michelin is to cease production of car and van tyres and stop rubber mixing activities at its Stoke-on-Trent plant in the UK midlands. The cuts, which will mean the loss of 950 of the 2350 jobs at the site, will take place during the...

Nokian and Michelin complete off-take deal.(contract information)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Nokian Tyres plc and Groupe Michelin have signed two off-take agreements for the manufacture of Nokian-branded heavy tyres by Michelin in Poland over the next three years. Trial manufacture of agricultural and industrial tyres has started...

Continental recall 140 000 tyres in US.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Continental AG's US subsidiary, Continental General Tire Inc. is recalling about 140 000 16-inch tyres fitted on Lincoln Navigators in 1998 and 1999, and another 20 000 of the tyres supplied to the replacement market. "A small percentage"...

Conti links with Iranian tyre maker Kerman.(contract information)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Continental AG is to supply radial tyre building equipment and technology to Kerman Tire & Rubber Co. of Tehran. Under the deal, Kerman will produce Continental-brand tyres at its plant in Kerman, in south-west Iran. The passenger and truck...

Dynamic Tyre seeks outside financial support.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... The owners of Dynamic Tyre Factory JSC, Bulgaria's only remaining tyre maker, are seeking outside financial and technical assistance to help keep the firm afloat. The owners--the company is 75-percent controlled by a management/workers...

EPDM compounds for coolant hose under scruntiny.(automobile industry)
November 1, 2000... At the IRC 2000 meeting held in Helsinki, Finland, 12-15 June 2000, several speakers covered the issue of developing EPDM compounds to meet the increasingly stringent coolant hose specifications of the automotive manufacturers. Higher...

Gear pumps could reduce process times.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Adding in-line gear pumps on a hose line could substanstially increase productivity, by eliminating two or more process steps, according to Magnatech. Gear pumps could offer a way to reduce the overall complexity of multi-layer hose...

Machinery makers cater for TPE profiles.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Three machinery makers offered technology to help make automotive profiles from TPE materials at the DKT-2000 exhibition in Nurnberg. If the machinery makers are to be believed, TPEs will be used in automotive profiles before too long....

Carbon black prices rise as oil costs continue up.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... All carbon black makers are raising prices in an effort to recoup surging energy costs. The bad news is most carbon black producers are boosting prices again to offset rising feedstock costs. The good news, according to one producer, is...

Jet Lasersysteme to open US sales office.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... German equipment supplier sets up new US unit. Jet Lasersysteme GmbH will enter the US by opening a Plymouth, Michigan, sales office in 2001 and possibly expand the US business further in the future, according to a company official. ...

French mould maker looks to US facility.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... French producer of tyre moulds Deshors scouting North America plant site. French tyre mould maker Ets A. Deshors is considering building a plant in the US or Canada in the near future to serve its growing customer base in North America....

Nakata, Wyko form machinery alliance.(contract information)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Nakata Engineering Co. Ltd and Wyko Inc. Engineering have formed an alliance to expand each firm's customer and product bases. Under the pact, Dudley, UK-based Wyko will sell and service Nakata's equipment in the US, Canada, Central and...

New subsidiary and plant for E+L.(Duncan Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Erhardt+Leimer Inc. has created a new subsidiary to expand the equipment maker's offerings, sales and service, and is in the process of purchasing a building for the operation. The new company, Duncan Technologies Inc., will be based in...

VMI Group develops drum opportunities.(product development information)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Technology aims to improve tyre carcasshaping uniformity. The research and development division of The Netherlands-based VMI Group has come out with a unique mechanical drum for radial passenger tyre assembly that it claims will have a...

Product showcase.(brief company product information)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... * Kobelco Stewart Bolling, Inc. With over 100 years of industry experience, this manufacturer is the world's leading supplier of quality rubber and plastic compounding machinery. Kobelco is focussed on meeting and exceeding demanding process...

Rubber -- it is heading upmarket.(market information)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2000... Rubber is there to compensate for the mistakes of the other designers--discuss. If I had to set an exam question on the rubber industry, I would quite like this as an essay question. It is nearly right, but phrased as above, it completely...