European Rubber Journal articles from November 2003

European Rubber Journal archives from November 2003

Wellington moving to new UK site by 2005: Wellington to sell old seal-making site in prime residential area. It will use the money to move to a rented site nearby and reduce debt.(Rubber news)(Wellington Holdings plc)
November 1, 2003... Seal-making group Wellington Holdings plc is to sell its Hampton, UK, headquarters site for 6.25 million [pounds sterling] ($7.3 million) and plans to move to a rented plant 8 km away at Hanworth. The group expects the move to be complete by...

Authorities approve Trelleborg acquisition: Trelleborg appoints Claus Barsoe a head of new sealing systems unit acquired from Smiths Group.(Rubber news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Trelleborg Group has gained regulatory approval for its acquisition of Smiths Group plc's precision seal business, and completed the deal 1 Oct. An overlap identified by the European Commission between Trelleborg and the Smiths' group unit in...

Bridgestone targets European market share: Bridgestone boss Watanabe is cautious about further investment in Europe.(Tyre news)(Shigeo Watanabe)
November 1, 2003... Having restored its North American operations to profitability, Bridgestone is now focused on becoming a serious player in Europe, according to Shigeo Watanabe, president and ceo of the Japanese tyre group. Bridgestone--like all the main...

Fire to cost $357 million.(ERJ newsbriefs)(fire at Bridgestone Corp.'s Tochigi tire plant)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Bridgestone Corp. estimates the direct and indirect costs of the 8-9 Sept fire that destroyed the rubber mixing area at its Tochigi tyre plant, at $357 million. The losses will result in a $45-million, or 3.4-percent. drop in 2003 operating...

Profile makers looking at making TPVs in-house: DuPont Dow aims to help profiles producers compound their own TPVs, using its granular EPDM. This by-passes the traditional route to market, and the weatherstrip makers are definitely interested.(Rubber news)(thermoplastic vulcanisates)
November 1, 2003... Automotive profiles makers are examining the possibility of making TPVs (thermoplastic vulcanisates) in-line, in their own extrusion manufacturing plants. Steven Yu, materials and compound engineering manager with Cooper-Standard...

Lightyear to buy Maxxim.(ERJ newsbriefs)(Lightyear Capital to purchase virtually all the assets and business of Maxxim Medical Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Oldsmar, Florida -- Lightyear Capital llc plans to purchase virtually all the assets and business of medical product maker Maxxim Medical Inc., which filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code 11 Feb, for an undisclosed amount....

Hyosung.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2003... The headline to an article (ERJ July/August p11) about Hyosung Corp's expansion plans was inappropriate The company has asked us to point out that the original headline was misleading, and that it would have been more accurate to write......

Safic Alcan.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2003... In an article (ERJ September p18) about Safic Alcan, we incorrectly identified the supplier of Vamac, the ethylene acrylic elastomer. We wish to make it clear that Vamac is supplied by DuPont de Nemours We apotogise unreservedly for the error.

Trico moving wiper blade production to N America: rationalisation of wiper blade systems will lead to 'minimal' redundancies, despite the end of manufacturing at Pontypool.(Rubber news)(Trico Products Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Trico Products Corp. will transfer nearly all its wiper blade production and assembly to North America from Europe by the end of the year. The subsidiary of Tomkins plc has identified its US and Mexican operations as "manufacturing centres...

Cooper, Lord jointly develop damper for GM: competitors cooperate to create tunable engine dampers for GM.(Rubber news)(Cooper-Standard Automotive)
November 1, 2003... Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s Cooper-Standard Automotive group and Lord Corp. have teamed up to co-develop a more economical and durable damper for General Motors Corp.'s new midsize car platform. The damper is based on Lord's Surface Effect...

TG North America in JV with TRAM.(ERJ newsbrief)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Plymouth, Michigan -- TG North America Corp. has formed a joint venture with TRAM Inc., the North American subsidiary of Tokai Rika Co. Ltd. The two companies will collaborate on safety systems, which include airbag modules, steering wheels and...

Tokai AVS plant planned for China.(ERJ newsbrief)(Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd to establish an automotive antivibration rubber products plant near Shanghai, China)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Tokyo -- Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd is to establish an automotive antivibration rubber products plant near Shanghai, China. The manufacturing facility in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, will enhance the firm's widespread manufacturing and...

Conti to spend 74m [euro] on new Czech tyre plant: high-tech manufacturing cells for the Otrokovice plant will take more high-performance tyre production out of Western Europe.(Tyre news)(Continental AG)
November 1, 2003... Continental AG is investing 74 million [euro] ($87.5 million) to build a new tyre factory on the Barum Continental spol sro site in Otrokovice, Czech Republic. The unit will make some 3 million tyres a year at full production, focussing on...

Nokian buys Norwegian firms.(ERJ newsbrief)(Nokian Tyres PLC has acquired Grimstad Vulk AS and Mandal Vulk AS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Nokia, Finland -- Nokian Tyres plc has acquired Grimstad Vulk AS and Mandal Vulk AS, adding four tyre shops and one retreading plant to its operations in Norway. The acquired businesses have combined sales of around NKr33 million ($4.7...

Toyo discussing runflat alliances.(ERJ newsbrief)(Toyo Tire & Rubber Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Tokyo -- Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd is discussing alliances with Groupe Michelin and other leading tyre makers covering development of runflat tyres. "Discussions are under way with several companies, and Michelin is one of them," a...

Pirelli opens tyre plant in Brazil.
November 1, 2003... Pirelli SpA has started production of radial passenger and light truck tyres at a $120-million plant in Feira de Santana, Brazil. The plant is destined to become a primary source of tyres to supply Pirelli Tire North America Inc. The new...

Schrader TPM plant to create 200 jobs.(ERJ newsbrief)(Schrader Electronics to build a second facility in Northern Ireland to support its tire pressure monitoring plant)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Schrader Electronics, part of Tomkins plc, is to build a second facility in Northern Ireland to support its tyre pressure monitoring plant, based in Antrim. The new unit in Carrickfergus is to start up in late 2004 and will create around...

Goodyear cuts 420 more jobs at UK plant: once it was Goodyear's largest plant outside America. Now it will do retreading and mixing with the loss of 420 jobs.(Tyre news)(Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK Ltd is to cease car and radial light truck tyre production at its Wolverhampton, UK plant, with the loss of up to 420 jobs. The company ended truck tyre manufacture there in March 2002. Goodyear Dunlop has initiated...

Michelin loses challenge to market abuse ruling: French tyre major's fine for unfair sale practices upheld by court.(Tyre news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Groupe Michelin has failed in a legal challenge to a June 2001 European Commission ruling that it had abused its dominance of the French replacement market for heavy vehicle tyres. On 30 Sept, Europe's Court of First Instance upheld the...

Goodyear to expand Polish tyre plant.(ERJ newsbrief)
November 1, 2003... Frankfurt, Germany -- Goodyear is this year investing $15 million to expand the TC Debica SA tyre plant in Debica, Poland. The investment is primarily intended to increase truck tyre production at the site, a Goodyear spokesman said 9 Sept at...

Vredestein delist nears completion.(ERJ newsbrief)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Amsterdam -- Vredestein NV is to de-list from the Amsterdam Euronext Stock Exchange 24 Oct, after its holding company Vredestein Investment Consortium NV (Vico) secured 96.8 percent of shares in the Dutch tyre group. Vico had made a tender...

Replacement tyres stronger.(ERJ newsbrief)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Vitry-sur-Seine, France -- Europe's replacement tyre markets advanced significantly on all fronts during the first half of 2003, according to the SNCP (Syndicat National du Caoutchouc et des Polymers). Sales of passenger car tyres at 73.93...

Pelmar buys Traiskirchen machines.(ERJ newsbrief)(Pelmar Engineering Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Ramat Hasharon, Israel -- Pelmar Engineering Ltd has purchased all of the tyre building machinery auctioned from the Continental/Semperit tyre factory at Traiskirchen in Austria. The Traiskirchen tyre facility employed some 960 people,...

PolyOne adding new white TPV to slate: PolyOne fills TPV gap left by the So.F.Ter demerger in 2002, as described by Marc Setzen. And many other TPVs arrive on the scene.(Supplier news)(thermoplastic vulcanisate )
November 1, 2003... Polyone Corp. is about to launch a new thermoplastic vulcanisate (TPV), called Onflex V, which has good colourability and no odour issues, according to Marc Setzen, TPE product manager Europe for PolyOne. Speaking at the TPE 2003 meeting...

Rulli Rulmeca buys material-handling unit: Italian company strengthens global position in rollers for conveyor belts with acquisition of four factories.(Rubber news)
November 1, 2003... Italy's Rulli Rulmeca SpA has purchased Interroll Corp.'s bulk material-handling business for an unspecified amount and created a new company, Rulmeca Corp., to serve the US and Mexico. Michael Gawinski, the current motorised pulley manager...

SSL ends bid discussions but medical sale still on: board ends talks on selling whole group--including Durex condom and Dr Scholl footcare brands. But Regent gloves and other medical businesses still up for grabs.(Rubber news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Glove, condom and healthcare business SSL International plc has ended talks on an offer for the group. "These discussions have not resulted in a proposal being made to the board," said SSL. "In the absence of any formal proposal to the board we...

DPL ready to add medical glove site: top-five medical glove maker acquires land near Hat Yai, Thailand for new $70 million factory.(Rubber news)(Dipped Products Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Sri Lanka's Dipped Products Ltd, one of the world's top five non-medical glove manufacturers, is acquiring 12 acres (48 500 [m.sup.2]) of land in Thailand for its first medical glove factory. In an announcement to the Colombo Stock...

ENI may keep Ravenna, sell other rubber plants: plan to save Ravenna jobs may lead to sale of Polimeri's SBR (UK), CR (France) and SBC (US) plants, as well as EPDM unit at Ferrara and NBR factory at Porto Torres.(Supplier news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Polimeri Europa SpA's elastomers business would be concentrated at its Ravenna, Italy, site and its remaining six facilities sold off to various buyers, under a plan revealed by Vittorio Mincato, ceo of parent group Eni SpA. The Italian...

Flexsys expanding capacity at Belgian site: big increase in PPD intermediate planned, just five years after Antwerp plant came on stream.(Supplier news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Flexsys is expanding the capacity of its 4-ADPA (4-amino diphenylamine) plant in Antwerp, Belgium, by 30 percent. The expansion comes just five years after the plant was built. The product is an intermediate for the production of PPD...

Degussa expanding Chinese carbon black facilities.(ERJ newsbrief)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Dusseldorf, Germany -- Degussa AG is to expand the capacity of its carbon black plant in Qingdao, China, to over 70 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) from 50 ktpa at present. "We will be increasing our production capacity by over 20,000 metric...

Showa Denko integrating CR.(ERJ newsbrief)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Tokyo -- Showa Denko KK (SDK) is to absorb its Showa Denko Elastomers KK chloroprene rubber (CR) production subsidiary into the group with effect from 1 Jan 2004 SDK will integrate development, production and marketing of its Shoprene...

Hyosung plans China steel cord expansion.(ERJ newsbrief)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Seoul -- Hyosung Corp, plans to invest $110 million to establish a 33.6-kilotonnes-per-annum (ktpa) steel cord plant in Qingdao, China. The tyre reinforcement operation is to be managed by a newly formed company called Hyosung Steel Cord...

Valeo cooling concept a further threat to hoses? New engine cooling concept will eliminate a lot of cooling hoses.(Supplier news)
November 1, 2003... Automotive supplier Valeo plans to offer efficient, simplified cooling solutions for car engines of the future--and says its new approach may eliminate "70 percent of the costly high-pressure fluid hoses," currently needed under the bonnet to...

Lewis to lead DuPont Dow JV.(ERJ people)(John Lewis named president of DuPont Dow Elastomers L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... DuPont Dow Elastomers IIc has named John Lewis as its president and ceo. He succeeds Theo Krapels, who is retiring. Lewis is currently vice president of Asia growth initiatives at DuPont Performance Coatings.

IISRP names new leaders.(ERJ people)(International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Zdzislaw Ingielewicz, president and general manager of Dwory SA, has been elected international president of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers for 2003-04 Ingielewicz was elected at the IISRP's 44th annual meeting,...

Bryant resigns from GDX.(ERJ people)(Michael Bryant leaves GDX Automotive)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Michael Bryant has resigned as president of automotive profile maker GDX Automotive and vice president of GenCorp Inc. He will remain with the firm on special assignment, said a GenCorp statement. Other GDX Automotive positions have been...

VMI supplies first PAX tyre builder.(ERJ newsbriefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Epe, The Netherlands--Equipment maker VMI EPE Holland BV has recently delivered its first automatic tyre building machine for Groupe Michelin's PAX run-flat system. The tyre assembly unit, which has a capacity of 800 tyres/day, is in...

Dow lifts prices, tightens supply.(ERJ newsbriefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Horgen, Switzerland--Dow Europe GmbH part of Dow Chemical Co., is implementing order control measures and increasing prices for its synthetic rubber materials. The measures, it said, are in response to tight supply and low margins in the...

Yule Catto under pressure as costs rise.(ERJ newsbriefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Harlow, UK -- Yule Catto & Co. plc's Polymer Chemicals division was hit by higher raw materials costs and weaker demand for its water-based polymer products during the first half of 2003. The unit makes emulsions, SBR latexes, adhesives,...

Mixed year for Ansell as occupational sales boom: Ansell returns to profit, despite problems in its professional division following start-up difficulties at its Malaysian glove plant.(Rubber news)
November 1, 2003... While Australian headquartered glove and condom maker Ansell Ltd returned to profit this year, its surgical and examination gloves division had lower earnings--down 34.7 percent to $31.6 million. Sales in this division also dropped to...

DuPont launches engineering TPV.(ERJ newsbriefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Akron, Ohio -- DuPont's Engineering Polymers unit is introducing a class of thermoplastic vulcanisates, which it claims offers higher heat, oil and chemical resistance than conventional TPVs. The company is touting the product as the first TPV...

New Sarlink grade claimed as 'best in class': DSM says new TPV gives easy processing in soft grades. Technical details are secret until the patents are completed, according to Alberto Dozeman.(Supplier news)
November 1, 2003... DSM Thermoplastic Elastomers has a new super-white, odour-free grade of its Sarlink TPV on offer; "We think... that this is the best in class TPV product line, claimed Alberto Dozeman, global R&T application development manager with DSM TPEs....

TPE 2003 papers on offer.(Supplier news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Copies of the book of papers from TPE2003 are available, price 150 [euro] plus post and packaging, from Rapra Technology Ltd, tel +44 (0) 1939 250383 fax +44 (0) 1939 251118. website www rapra.net, email conferences@rapra.net

Another route to TPVs.(ERJ newsbriefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Brussels -- Basell Polyolefins (Italy) "will not make TPVs," said Dine Bacci, technical manager of the firm's Ferrara, Italy based R&D centre "But we are proposing our thermoplastic polyolefin as a raw material for TPV compounders," he said,...

Gates pushes technology forward.(Belt developments)
November 1, 2003... Systems engineering to offer packages to automotive users is one focus for Gates' power transmission business. Technical pressures have led it to develop systems such as its Gates Engine Module which consolidates the front end systems into a...

More efficient belt drives on the way.(Belt developments)
November 1, 2003... Mark IV Automotive Inc. is developing more efficient belt-driven accessory systems as a lower-cost alternative to proposed electric systems. Current belt drives are fairly efficient, consistently yielding 90- to 98-percent efficiency and...

Glass fibre makes profiles more stable.(Extrusion)
November 1, 2003... Automotive profiles are one of the most important applications for EPDM materials, consuming up to a quarter of the one million tonnes of EPDM terpolymer produced every year. NGF Europe has been developing a glass cord system for the...

Metzeler Spain using glass cords.(Extrusion)(Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems Iberica)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The former Permolca unit in Logrono, Spain, now part of Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems Iberica, uses glass cord technology on 16 lines dedicated to EPDM profiles production at its plant. According to Agustin Jimenez Bazo, group...

Chinese tyre boom helps extruder makers.(Extrusion)(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2003... The extrusion machinery business is characterised by high demand, but low margins. Companies supplying extruders say their workshops and order books are full, but the price environment is very competitive, with customers demanding...

Fatigue and fracture studies need standard tests.(Computer modelling)
November 1, 2003... At a meeting to celebrate 50 years of fracture mechanics research on rubber, participants stressed the need for better FEA software to predict crack growth. Rubber part makers also want a standard test for measuring crack growth. And a...

Fracture mechanics in a nutshell.(Computer modelling)
November 1, 2003... The science of crack growth is well established in the defence and aerospace fields, where most of the materials are metals which behave in a linear manner. The same cannot be said of elastomers, and particularly of thermosetting, viscoelastic...

FEA software struggles with real-world rubber behaviour.(Computer modelling)
November 1, 2003... Although computer modelling and analysis programs are getting easier to use, they all rely on theoretical models of how rubber behaves in static and dynamic loading situations. The researchers need to simplify the complex behaviour of rubber as...

FEA helps model huge rubber dam: inflatable dams form a lucrative but under-appreciated part of the rubber industry. The world's largest such dam comprises a huge rubber sheet, 16mm thick, weighing a total of 33 tonnes. Bridgestone leads the world in the design and manufacture of these large membrane structures.(Computer modelling)
November 1, 2003... Inflatable dams are often the most cost-effective means of temporarily or permanently blocking a water channel. The basic idea is that a hollow rubber tube remains attached to the bottom of a channel. When the flow needs to be blocked, the tube...

Silicone worm to help back surgery.(Computer modelling)
November 1, 2003... A 'worm' made from medical grade silicone rubber could be on the way to helping thousands of back pain sufferers to recover from prolapsed disks. A team at the University of Ilmenau in Germany, has been working on a novel device inspired...

Better crack simulation: software to help analyse crack growth is born from aerospace industry.(Computer modelling)(Zentech International Ltd.)
November 1, 2003... ZenCrack software from Zentech International Ltd, of Camberley, in the UK, is designed specifically to help engineers predict crack growth in their designs. The module relies on the standard mesh and geometry data. Once the geometry data and...

Diary.(rubber industry events calendar)(Calendar)
November 1, 2003... Readers are strongly advised to confirm details with organisers before making any travel arrangements. An updated list of industry events is available on the ERJ website at http://www.crain.co.uk/ NOVEMBER * 2003 MERL oilfield...

European car, truck sales continue steady decline.(ERJ dataflow)(rubber industry overview)(Illustration)(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2003... 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...

Modelling rubber behaviour.(postscript)(Column)
November 1, 2003... A recent conference on rubber modelling seemed to highlight an issue which perhaps deserves a bit more attention. To get technical for a moment, any useful analysis of rubbery materials is non-linear. That means difficult and expensive....