European Rubber Journal articles from November 2006

European Rubber Journal archives from November 2006

Teklas Bulgarian investment 'will not be the last overseas'; Investment in Bulgaria is for low-pressure hose, and to gain experience of operating overseas.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Turkish rubber components maker, Teklas Kaucuk has invested [euro]10 million in a new rubber moulding and processing plant in southern Bulgaria. The unit currently employs 57, but the company has a target of 250...

Pirelli brings Romanian tyre plant on stream; New tyre plant to be dedicated to high performance tyres. Mixing to begin next year.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Pirelli has brought its dedicated high performance car tyre factory on stream in Slatina, Romania. The plant will, by 2008 make around 4.5 million tyres per year, of which 90 percent are destined for export. In 2006...

Pirelli Tyre H1 results suffer from IPO costs.(News)
November 1, 2006... Pirelli Tyre reported a good first half with sales and earning up strongly over figures from a year ago. The improvement in earnings was reduced due to costs of some [euro]6.5 million attributed to the failed stock market launch in June. ...

Gori: Tyre labelling standards need to be harmonised.(News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The world's tyre makers need to find ways to harmonise a growing portfolio of national technical tyre labelling standards that threaten to swamp the tyre industry in paperwork and added costs, according to Pirelli Tyre SpA CEO Francesco Gori....

Pelmar shows Lynx runflat concept at ITEC; Double-air chamber tyre will undergo road testing soon.(News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Pelmar, an engineering company based in Israel has announced a new concept in runflat tyres. The idea takes a conventional tyre and inserts a rib along the central plane, to make a two-chambered product. If one chamber...

Alliance confirms plan to sell shares.(News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Hadera-based Alliance Tire's main shareholder, Eliezer Fishman has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to sell his direct and indirect holdings in Alliance Tire to a group of investors for $48 million, a premium of 20 percent over the market...

Goodyear wins [euro]3 million EU grant for 'Bio-tyre'.(News)(European Union)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The EU has awarded [euro]66 million in grants for innovation in environmental technologies. Among these grants is just over [euro]3 million to Goodyear to develop an environmentally-friendly tyre design which is claimed to reduce...

Dunlop invests in UK for MotoGP racing tyres; Goodyear is aiming for success in the MotoGP series through the Dunlop brand.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Dunlop has announced a [pounds sterling]1 million-plus investment in new technology at its Fort Dunlop plant in Birmingham aimed at delivering long term success in the MotoGP world championship. The plant currently...

Briefs.(Apollo Tyres, Bridgestone Corp., Dynamic Tire Corp. )
November 1, 2006... Apollo Tyres sales up net profit up Mumbai, India - Apollo Tyres Ltd posted a 21 percent rise in net sales and a 3.8 percent boost in net profit for the second quarter of fiscal 2006. The Indian tyre firm reported net sales Rs 7673...

Goodyear strike continues into sixth week: no deal yet; USW and Goodyear go head-to-head over job security and healthcare.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw More than 15 000 union workers at 16 Goodyear tyre and rubber product sites walked off the job on 5 Oct, claiming the company left them with no other option after lengthy contract negotiations. The total includes...

Sabic, ExxonMobil study JV in SBR, BR, IIR, EPDM and black; Petrochemical firms aim to support Saudi government's ambitions to develop tyre and auto industry in the Kingdom.(Suppliers)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and ExxonMobil Chemical are investigating a joint Saudi-based project to make rubber, carbon black and thermoplastic speciality polymers. The materials are listed as EPDM, TPO,...

Chemtura to sell EPDM, rubber chemicals activities to Lion.(Suppliers)(Chemtura Corp)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Chemtura Corp. has announced that Lion Chemical Capital, LLC is to buy the company's EPDM business and the Rubber Chemicals businesses associated with Geismar, Louisiana as well as Flexzone antiozonants worldwide. The letter of intent was...

Chemtura sells Davis-Standard unit.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2006... Chemtura, the specialist chemicals company, has finally sold its extruder machinery business unit, Davis Standard. The new owner is Hamilton Robinson LLC, a private equity company to whom Chemtura sold a minority stake in Davis-Standard in...

Briefs.
November 1, 2006... Cooper merges body seals, NVH Novi, Michigan - Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc. is combining the former Global Sealing Division and the NVH Control Systems Division into one new group called the Body and Chassis Systems Division. The...

Lanxess realigns its EPDM rubber business.(Suppliers)(ethylene-propylene-diene rubber)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Lanxess AG is to realign its ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) business. Marketing, research, production and controlling will in future be assigned to Lanxess Buna GmbH in Marl, Germany. Similarly, Lanxess will pool its EPDM operations in...

Chemtura, Bayer settle class action claims separately; Two majors put anti-trust litigation behind them and concentrate on the future.(Suppliers)(Chemtura Corp)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw In separate moves, both Bayer and Chemtura Corp. have resolved federal class action litigation anti trust activities. Chemtura entered into an agreement with class counsel in the federal rubber chemicals case on 2...

Lanxess opens [euro]2000 million war chest for acquisitions.(Suppliers)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Lanxess AG has ready funds of [euro]1000 million to [euro]1500 million available to fund acquisitions, said Matthias Zachert, chief financial officer of the company. However, chief executive, Axel Heitmann said the company has only just started...

Flexsys settles with Sovereign in 6PPD case.(Suppliers)(cases)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Flexsys America LP has settled its patent infringement action with Sovereign Chemical Company ("Sovereign") that is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Sovereign is the distributor for Sinorgchem Co.,...

ExxonMobil adds halobutyl capacity in Baytown, Texas; Butyl rubber business sees significant investment in capacity, technology.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw ExxonMobil Chemical is to increase halobutyl manufacturing at its plant in Baytown, Texas. The US facility will increase capacity to produce Exxon Bromobutyl rubber by 60 percent by modifying existing equipment and...

Lanxess still expanding butyl rubber capacity.(Suppliers)(Antwerp plant)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Ron Commander, head of Lanxess' butyl rubber business unit said the company is continuing to expand capacity for the material. He said a 10 percent capacity increase at the company's Antwerp plant was fully completed earlier this year, while a...

Low-temp innerliner material from ExxonMobil, Yokohama.(Suppliers)(Yokohama Rubber Company Ltd.)(ExxonMobil Chemical Co.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... ExxonMobil Chemical Co. and The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (YRC) have announced a new material for tyre inner liners, described jointly as a milestone. The material is specifically designed for use in passenger vehicle tyres in harsh winter...

Briefs.
November 1, 2006... New Baton Rouge Santoprene plant Houston, Texas - ExxonMobil Chemical will build a new facility at its Baton Rouge, Louisiana, complex to produce its Santoprene thermoplastic elastomers, compounded polypropylene and other speciality...

Briefs.(Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals, Chemtura Corp., Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex L.L.C. raises prices)
November 1, 2006... Akzo Nobel lifts organic peroxide price Arnhem, Netherlands - Akzo Nobel's Polymer Chemicals division raised the price of its cumene-based organic peroxides in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa from 15 Oct. The company's Perkadox...

Increasing the pressure on materials and suppliers; New emissions standards and more varied needs are creating considerable challenges for suppliers of rubber hoses. John Osborne considers how manufacturers are meeting those needs and how IT is helping to solve the design problems.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: John Osborne Traditionally designers of hose assemblies fitted in cars, still the largest market for rubber hose, have left it until the last minute to specify their requirements. That is still a bone of contention. However,...

Trelleborg continues buying spree in the rubber sector.(News)(acquisitions )
November 1, 2006... Trelleborg AB has continued its policy of buying up smaller rubber processing companies and bringing their technology and products to a wider audience. In the last few weeks Trelleborg has bought a privately-held diving suit maker in...

Improved barriers keep fluids under control.(News)(application of ContiTech Fluid Technology)
November 1, 2006... Using CO2, a natural refrigerant, automotive air conditioning systems can work even more efficiently - and become more environmentally compatible than ever before. However, CO2 causes problems with permeation. ContiTech Fluid Technology has now...

Replacing Black with glass can improve permeation response.(News)(glass flakes usage)
November 1, 2006... Byline: Christopher A. Stevens, David W. Mason, Nick Mostowy NGF Canada Limited New experiments have shown that replacing carbon black with tiny glass platelets around two to five microns in size can significantly improve permeation...

Advances in fluorosilicone rubber for turbocharger hoses.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: Dave Lawson Dow Corning Western Europe is currently experiencing huge growth in turbodiesel engine passenger cars. Recent trends in turbocharger technology have resulted in ever increasing demands being placed upon many of the...

Trelleborg Wheel phases out Pirelli name on farm tyres; Trelleborg's licence to use the Pirelli name on agricultural tyres ends in 2010.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Trelleborg Wheel Systems SpA is phasing out its use of the Pirelli brand for farm tyres and will instead place greater emphasis on its Trelleborg brand for the farm and forestry markets. In 1998 Trelleborg Wheel...

Production strategy and OE.(news)
November 1, 2006... Vischi said Trelleborg will not move manufacture of agricultural tyres to a low-labour-cost country. He said Trelleborg already has factories in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, but, "I will never move this product to Sri Lanka, because the cheap...

Asia begins to dominate the Carbon Black business; As oil prices start to fall, the carbon black business still faces a number of challenges, according to speakers at Carbon Black World in Budapest.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw The carbon black industry is going through a time of intense change, according to speakers at the Carbon Black World conference organised by Intertech-Pira. A series of speakers tracked the movement in the industry....

Cabot returns to profit in Q4 and full year.(News)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Cabot Corp. has reported net income of $88 million for the 12 months ended 30 September 2006. This is compared to a net loss of $48 million for the full fiscal year 2005. In the carbon black business, Cabot converted a loss of $4 million...

Columbian confirms carbon black expansion in Hungary.(News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Columbian Chemicals Co. has confirmed that it is to expand its Columbian Tiszai Carbon, Ltd. unit in Hungary. In a statement, Columbian said, "The expansion includes the addition of tread and carcass capacity, increasing the facility's...

Report studies markets for carbon black.(News)
November 1, 2006... Information broker Research and Markets is selling a report on the world carbon black market, produced by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. and first published in August, 2006. The 260-page report costs around [euro]3500 and is split into four...

Cabot's cost reduction plan to cost $15 m.(News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Cabot Corp expects to incur a $15 million ([euro]11.8 million) charge in 2006 and 2007 as part of a cost reduction initiative at its carbon black operations. The Boston-based speciality chemicals maker will record an $8 million expense in...

Caplea resigns.(News)(George Caplea leaves Trelleborg Group AB )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The president of Trelleborg Group AB subsidiary Trelleborg Automotive, George Caplea, left the company on 1 Oct. Peter Nilsson, president and chief executive of Trelleborg, has assumed responsibility for Trelleborg Automotive until further...

Columbian uses sophisticated tyre model.(News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Rikki Lamba, vice president for carbon black technology at Columbian said Columbian has an excellent model for predicting the demand for specific grades of carbon black. Columbian has been working with UK-based...

People news.(People)(Brian Smith steps down at Continental Tyre Group Ltd)
November 1, 2006... Smith steps down from Conti UK London - Brian Smith, managing director of Conti's UK subsidiary, Continental Tyre Group Ltd, is to step down at the end of December. His successor will be named in due course. Smith has had 13 years at...

Chemists 're-write polymerisation process'.(News)(Single Electron Transfer-Living Radical Polymerization)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Chemists at the University of Pennsylvania have created a new process, known as SET-LRP, for free radical polymerisation. This method takes place at room temperature, uses less metal catalyst to drive the reaction and requires a very short...

B C Sekhar, former head of Malaysia's rubber research body dies at 76.(Obituary)(Obituary)
November 1, 2006... Tan Sri Dr B.C. Sekhar, former director of the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM), died of a heart attack on 6 September in Chennai aged 76. Born on a rubber plantation in Ulu Buloh, Malaysia - just a few kilometres from the RRIM...

Ford names Conti as preferred supplier.(Continental AG)(Ford Motor Co.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Ford Motor Co. has named Continental AG as a preferred supplier. On 1 Nov., the car maker added five companies to its preferred supplier listing, including Conti and four suppliers of goods and services not related to direct vehicle production....

Rubber reports.(Briefs)(contraceptives, rubber roofing, medical gloves)
November 1, 2006... Report studies global market for rubber gloves Dublin, Ireland - A new report claims to analyse the worldwide markets for medical gloves by value. The 572-page report, Medical Gloves - Global Strategic Business Report was first...

Oil prices, NR prices show significant declines.(News)(rubber industry)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... 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...

Diary.(Calendar)
November 1, 2006... * Carbon Black World 2006. 6-8 November: Budapest. Contact PIRA Intertech. Tel +1 207 781 9608, fax +1 207 781 2150. * KHK, 7th fall rubber colloquium 8-11 November: Hannover. Contact DiK. Tel +49 511 84 201 17, fax +49 511 83 868 26. ...

More stories on the web.(News)(Plymouth Rubber, Fenner Dunlop)
November 1, 2006... Don't miss out on the news. We don't have room in the magazine for all the news that goes on the ERJ website, day in, day out. So make sure you get full value out of your subscription. Go to www.europeanrubberjournal.com to see these stories....

Seeking standards for tyre pressure data.(Column)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Standardisation has never been much of a problem in the tyre industry, but that is changing fast and the industry will have to adapt. Tyre companies are coming up with a whole range of new technologies and creative...

Bolstered by tyre sales gains, Bridgestone Corp ranks No. 1; Bridgestone edges out Michelin as the world's biggest tyre maker. Total market passes $100 000 million for the first time.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: Bruce Davis ERJ Akron bureau Reflecting the shifting currency values and various growth strategies globally, European Rubber Journal's top 75 tyre makers saw a number of changes this year, including Bridgestone Corp jumping to the...

Trelleborg Q3 profits hit by raw materials costs.(News)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Sales in the Trelleborg Group continued to grow during the third quarter, but profits fell in the period. Net sales increased by 8 percent during the quarter and by 13 percent during the first nine months, driven by organic growth and...

Makers expect profits to sag under input prices; Raw materials costs are affecting profitability at the leading tyre makers.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: Lisa Hockensmith Tire Business staff Most major tyre makers expect their earnings to continue to take a beating in the second half of 2006 as their bottom lines struggled under the weight of raw material costs in the first six...

VMI's ultra-flexible tyre-making machine comes to life: Part 1 of 2; VMI is beginning to demonstrate its Modular Tyre Manufacturing (MTM) system to tyre makers who want flexibilty at an attractive price.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Flexibility has become a byword in tyre production. An ideal tyre manufacturing system would make short production runs - say 50 units - with excellent repeatability, perfect quality and minimal scrap, then change size...

Marangoni re-aligns for the future.(Global Tyre Report 2006)(Marangoni S.p.A.)
November 1, 2006... Marangoni Group is based in Rovereto, Italy, and is still controlled by the Marangoni family. The company currently makes most of its money from retreading and the production of compounds, mostly for the retread business. In addition, Marangoni...

Tyre industry wakes up to pressure management; At IQPC's Intelligent Tyre conference held in Frankfurt in September, delegates from the car industry, tyre industry and pressure management industries met to discuss some of the challenges facing this new industry.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw The only way tyre pressure monitoring will happen is through legislation. When it does happen, commercial and technological pressures will drive it toward indirect systems, despite very real concerns about current...

EU fuel economy limits, CO2 emissions and the car industry.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Axel Friedrich of the German Environment Ministry said cars contribute around 10 percent of the total emissions of carbon dioxide in the EU. The EU strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from cars relies on increased public awareness, combined with...

Investments reach [euro]3000 million: Part 1 of 2; Another bumper year for the global tyre industry as investments remain at record levels.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: Bruce Davis ERJ Akron bureau Tyre industry investments disclosed from mid-2005 through mid-2006 fell short of the record $4500 million recorded in 2004-05 period, but at nearly $3200 million they rank as the second highest of...

Global tyre plants 2006.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... The following table lists tyre-making facilities throughout the world. Plant information shows: the year a factory opened; whether some of the workers are represented in a union*; the number of employees at the facility; the types of tyre made...

Briefs.(Fenner PLC's profits)(Financial report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... 12-month revenues, jump at Fenner Hessle, UK - Fenner PLC, the UK-based conveyor belt maker has recorded record profits for the year ended 31 August 2006. Pre-tax profit increased by 136 percent to [pounds sterling]29.3m ([euro]43.2...

ETRMA to challenge metric-only directive; An old European Directive is raising its ugly head as the tyre industry fights to keep inch dimensions on tyres and rims.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw The European tyre industry is concerned about the implications of EU Directive 80/181/EEC, which as formulated at present, requires all goods sold in the EU to be measured only in metric dimensions. The directive is...

On the ERJ web site ... www.europeanrubberjournal.com.(News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... You can find all the news we can't fit into the magazine, including... Lanxess invests [euro]15 m in chloroprene rubber production expansion... Lanxess to open rubber research centre in Qingdao... Performance Fibers to expand HMLS yarn...

Change of address.(News)
November 1, 2006... Crain Communications Ltd has moved to: 3rd Floor 21 St Thomas Street London SE1 9RY Tel +44 20 7457 1400; Fax +44 20 7457 1440 Please update your records

Freudenberg-NOK acquires medical seal manufacturer; "Freudenberg-NOK's goal is to grow in the medical component and device markets, and this acquisition reflects our commitment to that vision," - Dr. Jorg Schneewind, general manager of Freudenberg-NOK's special sealing products division.(News)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership (FNGP) has acquired the assets of Helix Medical, Inc. of Carpinteria, California, with the aim of expanding the business of elastomeric seals and custom moulded products for the...

Briefs.(Nolato AB to buy Medical Rubber)
November 1, 2006... Nolato buying Medical Rubber Torekov, Sweden - Nolato AB has agreed to purchase Medical Rubber, a Swedish maker of silicone and thermoplastic elastomer medical components. The $22 million ([euro]17 million) deal will give Nolato an...

Coloured TPE topcoat for EPDM door seal.(News)(vulcanised thermoplastic elastomer)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Hong Yang Sealings of Guiyang is using new materials and a proprietary process to give co-extruded automotive door seals a coloured decorative top-coat. For the top-coat, instead of a traditional thermoset material, Hong Yang has selected a...

Investments reach [euro]3000 million: Part 2 of 2; Another bumper year for the global tyre industry as investments remain at record levels.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: Bruce Davis ERJ Akron bureau Hankook Tire Hankook Tire Co Ltd. is spending $625 million through 2010 to build a car and light truck tyre plant in Dunaujvaros, Hungary. Production is to start by the second half of 2007 and reach...

Tyre plant locations in leading countries.(Global Tyre Report 2006)(Directory)
November 1, 2006... These companies own plants in different countries. Amtel-Vredestein NV Europe Enschede, Netherlands Moscow, Russia Kirov, Russia Voronezh, Russia Apollo Africa Durban, South Africa Ladysmith, South...

VMI's ultra-flexible tyre-making machine comes to life: Part 2 of 2; VMI is beginning to demonstrate its Modular Tyre Manufacturing (MTM) system to tyre makers who want flexibilty at an attractive price.(Global Tyre Report 2006)
November 1, 2006... Byline: David Shaw Known and new technologies Unlike C3M and MIRS, the system uses recognisable building drums and inflatable bladders. In common with MIRS and C3M, however, MTM uses direct extrusion of unreinforced rubber elements...