European Rubber Journal articles from November 2007

European Rubber Journal archives from November 2007

Avon puts UK mixing business up for sale; * Avon no longer needs mixing in UK* MDC is re-named, Artis.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Avon Rubber PLC has put its mixing business in Westbury, in the west of England, up for sale due to "unacceptable losses." The company's spokeswoman told ERJ, in a 12 November telephone conversation that, "We have...

Trelleborg Auto restructures with UK sale and new JV in Russia; * Coventry airspring plant sold in MBO* JV agreed with Elad.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Trelleborg Automotive is to sell an airsprings factory in the UK and is establishing an AVS joint venture in Russia. Speaking to equity analysts at the company's Capital Markets Day, Roger Johansson, who recently...

Trelleborg to add mixing line in Czech Republic.(News)
November 1, 2007... Trelleborg AB is to add a third mixing line in Lesina, in the Czech Republic. The company said it is to invest SEK 55 million ([euro]6 million) there, "with the aim of creating a strategically located cutting-edge facility for mixing...

MAPS acquisition to help Cooper Standard Automotive; * Good synergy between CSA, MAPS* Cuts reliance on 'Big 3'.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw The acquisition of the European activities of Metzeler Automotive Profiles Systems (MAPS) will help Cooper-Standard Automotive (CSA) to reduce its reliance on the Big Three US automotive manufacturers, and improve its...

Nokian to build greenfield tyre factory in Kazakhstan; * Nokian takes 10% stake* Up to [euro]160m investment.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Simona Stankovska Nokian Tyres has signed an agreement with Kazakhstan-based open stock company Ordabasy Corp. JSC to build a greenfield passenger car tyre factory in Kazakhstan - and will invest [euro]160 million in the project....

Pirelli signs deal to develop MIRS, CCM, cyber tyre with local university.(News)
November 1, 2007... The Politecnico di Torino and Pirelli have signed a five-year framework agreement for joint research in the tyre sector. The research will cover process technology and product development. In process technology, the research team will work...

briefs.(Tyre Recovery Association's second annual Forum Day)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... UK tyre recycling group plans meeting on 23 Jan in Birmingham London - The UK-based Tyre Recovery Association's second annual Forum Day will be on 23 Jan 2008 at the Marriot Renaissance Hotel, Solihull. TRA said the day will, "provide...

Hankook confirms multiple deaths among Korean employees; * 14 deaths in 18 months* Government sets up probe.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Hankook Tire has confirmed that a number of its Korean employees have died due to unnatural causes in recent months. The company issued a statement saying, "Hankook Tire has been investigating, and continues to...

Michelin to close Toul plant, restructure in Spain.(News)
November 1, 2007... Group Michelin wants to close a plant in France and restructure its operations in Spain to strengthen its competitiveness in Europe. Restructuring details were presented in October to the tyre maker's French employees and will entail...

briefs.(Netherlands -Amtel-Vredestein NV held an Extraordinary General Meeting)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Amtel-Vredestein appoints new board members at EGM Enschede, The Netherlands -Amtel-Vredestein NV held an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGM) on 2 October 2007 in Enschede, The Netherlands. At the meeting a number of...

Dwory to make Nd-BR for Michelin at new plant; * Michelin licenses Nd-BR to Polish rubber maker* Plant to make 80kt/year.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Synthos Dwory, the Polish SBR maker has announced a scheme in which it will build a new plant for butadiene rubber. The material will be made under licence from Michelin using neodymium as a catalyst. The licence permits...

Evonik acquires full control of US JV, DEC.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... Evonik Industries (the new name of the company previously known as Degussa AG) has bought out its joint venture partner in North America and now has full control of Degussa Engineered Carbons, known as DEC. In 2002 Evonik and ECI formed...

Trelleborg execs plead guilty to marine hose conspiracy.(News)
November 1, 2007... The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced that two executives of French marine hose manufacturer Trelleborg Industries SAS have pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices and allocate market shares of marine...

DATL enters Asia with aircraft retread JV; * DATL enters Asian region* Aircraft tyre business expands.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd (HAECO) and Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd (TAECO) to establish a tyre retreading...

Apollo to close tyre plant in Kerala, move production.(News)
November 1, 2007... Indian tyre maker PTL Enterprises, formerly known as Premier Tyres Ltd., is relocating its sole factory in Kalamassery to a new industrial park in India's Kerala state devoted to attracting rubber-related businesses. PTL was expected to break...

Yokohama opens new OTR tyre plant; plans expansion.(News)
November 1, 2007... The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd., has held a ceremony to officially open the second OTR (off-the road) tyre manufacturing facility at Onomichi, Japan, located in Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture - and announced that it will increase capacity....

briefs.
November 1, 2007... FTC approves Michelin's acquisition of Oliver Rubber Greenville, South Carolina -Michelin North America said it has completed its acquisition of Oliver Rubber from the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. Oliver, which produces tread rubber and...

DSM to sell EPDM, TPV businesses; * Elastomers no longer core business* No buyer mentioned.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw DSM has said its two elastomers business are no longer part of its core activities. The company said, "Those businesses... will be carved out and divested... to new owners for whom there is a stronger strategic fit and...

Keltan to convert line to make high-efficiency peroxide-cure elastomers.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... DSM's Elastomer business is to convert one of its three EPDM production lines at Geleen to its ACE catalyst. The investment of [euro]10 million is scheduled to begin trial production in the last quarter of 2008. DSM said the upgrade will...

briefs.
November 1, 2007... Eliokem to buy 15 ktpa nitrile rubber unit from Apar Villejust, France - Eliokem SAS has agreed to buy the nitrile rubber business of India's Apar Industries Ltd. for Rs 1110 million ([euro]19.6 million). The division operates a plant in...

Dow raises EPDM capacity 40 percent through debottlenecking; * Capacity up to 150 kt/year* Only at Plaquemine; not at Seadrift.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Dow Chemical has said it has increased capacity for its range of Nordel IP materials by 40 percent thanks to process improvements at the company's manufacturing plants. Dow anticipates a further increase, allowing it to...

GLS wins licence to modify Dow's Infuse range of OBCs.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... GLS Corp., a TPE compounder based near Chicago, Illinois, says it has obtained a licence from Dow Chemical to develop Dow's range of olefinic block copolymer materials sold under the Infuse name. GLS has introduced its own brand, called...

Polyone buys TPE compounder, GLS.(Suppliers)(Company overview)
November 1, 2007... PolyOne Corp. said it has agreed to buy GLS Corp. GLS is a North American provider of speciality thermoplastic elastomer compounds ("TPE") for consumer and medical applications. GLS has annual sales of approximately $130 million. Terms of the...

briefs.
November 1, 2007... Exxon breaks ground on Singapore elastomers project Singapore - ExxonMobil has broken ground on its giant petrochemical project in Singapore. The project, expected to be the world's largest, is due on stream in 2011 and includes annual...

TVS and Novotema form sealing joint venture in India.(News)
November 1, 2007... Sundaram Industries, a member of the TVS Group and Novotema SpA, a leading producer of precision sealing and rubber components, have announced the creation of a joint venture for the manufacturing and distribution of a range of speciality...

Zeppelin buys Chronos Richardson dosing unit; * Allows access to UK markets* Zeppelin enters rubber.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Zeppelin Silos & Systems GmbH has acquired Chronos Richardson's dosing and conveying unit, based in Nottingham, UK, following clearance by relevant anti-trust authorities. Zeppelin, based in Friedrichshafen, Germany is a...

DPE prepares for EU fine over CR price fixing.(Suppliers)
November 1, 2007... E I DuPont de Nemours is expecting to be hit by a fine from the EU antitrust authorities over illegal price-fixing in polychloroprene. In a 10-Q filing to the SEC authorities in the US dated 31 October, the company says it, "expects EU...

briefs.
November 1, 2007... DuPont Elastomers wins Vamac business, markets it alongside Viton Dusseldorf, Germany - DuPont has decided to move the Vamac acrylic elastomer business into its DuPont Performance Elastomers subsidiary. Previously it was under the plastics...

Conti to build up engineering in Slovakia after buying Matador; Conti's acquisition of a 51-percent controlling interest in the Slovak company opens the door to big investments in Puchov and to new cost-saving opportunities for Continental.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Continental AG's acquisition of 51 percent of the equity in Matador AS' rubber business makes it the biggest supplier of passenger and light truck tyres in Europe, passing Michelin by a small margin, said Manfred...

K show sees rise of two-component moulding; Two years on from the big round of price rises, new design ideas have allowed materials suppliers to find applications for relatively expensive materials that can deliver intelligent design solutions. 2-K moulding, Kunstoffe and Kautschuk is one response to that demand.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Plastics moulding companies are getting in on the elastomer act in a big way, according to a series of senior executives speaking at the K show. According to Walter Heider of Zeon Europe, "Since a couple of years...

Kraiburg extends product range.(News)
November 1, 2007... Another company seeking to deliver flexible material that also meets demanding temperature and oil requirements, is Kraiburg TPE. Chief executive Franz Hinterecker said some of its existing compounds no longer offer sufficient life in hot,...

Peugeot selects TPV-S for 308 static seals; Four-way cooperation brings TPV window seals on Peugeot's new 308. The reasoning is appearance, performance, weight and cost, say the material suppliers.Kraton's SEBS is the base for a TPV-S, compounded by CTS and delivered to Cooper-Standard for manufacture.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw The latest Peugeot 308 has static window seals made from a TPV based on Kraton's SEBS material and polypropylene. The seals - including glass-run channels and belt-line seals - are made by Cooper-Standard. The material...

Rep to sell technology that can halve cycle time in rubber injection moulding processes; A simple-looking modification to the runners can improve cure time by up to 50 percent, according to Rep. The idea is based on a licence from Penn State University spin-off, Beaumont Technologies. It works by mixing up the rubber to ensure even temperature distribution.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Injection moulding machine maker Rep has said its latest technology can cut cure time by 25 to 50 percent. Speaking at the K show in Dusseldorf, Rep spokesman Gilbert Greco said the company's Turbocure system can reduce...

Songwon to spend [euro]14 m integrating production of IBL; tackle REACH; * Investment of [euro]14m * REACH will have a significant effect.(News)(Songwon Industrial Company Limited)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Simona Stankovska Songwon Industrial Co. Ltd will spend $20 million ([euro]14 million) on integrating production of isobutylene (IBL) at its Maeam, South Korea, facility in order to cut the cost of raw materials. The plant,...

Wacker raises prices for silicone products.(News)
November 1, 2007... Wacker Silicones is raising the prices of all its silicone products worldwide effective 1 Jan 2008. Prices will increase between 5 and 8 percent, depending on the product family. Wacker said, "This measure is necessitated by continually...

Private equity company buys out Michelin, Woco JV; * Loss-making NVH business sold to Arques* Annual revenue of [euro]250m.(News)(Company overview)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw German private equity fund Arques Industries AG has acquired all the shares in Woco Michelin AVS based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The sellers are the companies Woco and Michelin who founded Woco Michelin AVS in 2000...

Momentive launches fully fluorinated LSR.(News)
November 1, 2007... Momentive, the former GE Advanced Materials business, has launched a range of fully-fluorinated liquid silicone rubbers that, the company claims, process as well as conventional liquid silicone rubbers. The company says these materials offer...

Berstorff sells continuous compounder to unidentified tyre maker.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw The Berstorff division of Krauss-Maffei has sold a production-scale continuous compounding machine to a tyre company for the production of butyl rubber-based compounds. The twin-screw unit has a capacity of around 900...

2-K: mould plastics and rubber together in two-shot unit; Three French firms collaborated to develop a machine capable of injection moulding thermoset rubber and a thermoplastic in a single 2-shot process. Help from materials supplier was key to the development.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Billion SA, the French supplier of plastics injection moulding equipment has launched a new machine that allows operators to overmould rubber onto a plastics substrate in a two-shot injection moulding process. Known as...

Oil prices reach all-time highs as NR comes off peak temporarily.(News)
November 1, 2007... 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...

2K moulding opens opportunities and threats.(Column)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw I very much enjoyed the K show this year. Both professionally and socially, it was a really positive experience. Not that there were many companies there who were exclusively showing rubber goods or rubber...

Bridgestone holds tight to top spot for 2006; Bridgestone Corp retained its spot as the world's largest tyre maker in 2006, just barely ahead of Michelin, behind an 11-percent spurt in sales.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Bruce Davis ERJ Akron bureau A 5.6-percent shift in the value of the yen against the dollar during the year nearly halved Bridgestone's growth in dollar terms. The two competitors ended the year in a virtual tie, based on...

Hot 1st half gives tyre makers optimism for '07; First half results seem to show that the tyre industry has recovered margins, despite severe raw material price increases. Q3 results show the same trend.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Lisa Hockensmith ERJ Akron bureau Following a strong first half, the world's largest tyre manufacturers expect to post improved financial results for the full year 2007. The caveats, however, are possible higher raw materials...

Michelin brand leads from the front in cyberspace.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw In a survey of brand presence in cyberspace, the Michelin brand comes out far ahead of other brands. But, Michelin cannot be complacent. The gap between leader Michelin and second-position Bridgestone narrowed in the...

Yokohama develops 'shelled microbubbles' for winter tyres.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Yokohama Rubber Co has developed new technologies to overcome the thin film of water underneath a tyre at temperatures between 0[degrees]C and -6[degrees]C, according to a corporate press release. The company says...

Freudenberg holds innovation forum to nurture new ideas.(News)(Freudenberg Group)(annual innovation day)
November 1, 2007... The Freudenberg Group discussed with its employees and partners how to turn an idea into a business at its annual innovation day held on 25 Sept. Freudenberg said it has developed a programme to facilitate and accelerate the transition...

Hankook Tire is on a mission; Hankook Tire is playing out a long-term strategy to be one of the world's top tyre brands. After spending years building its reputation among dealers, the Korean company is now setting about increasing its brand awareness among a wider public.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Hankook Tire is on a mission to raise its brand value. The company is cash-rich, strongly cash-generative, has low debt and claims to lead the world in efficient production. The senior management is sending a firm...

Raising the brand profile; Deep within Hankook is the conviction that the selling price of Hankook's tyres does not represent the performance and value of the products. Hankook is trying to improve its positioning and does so by comparing its selling prices with those of Michelin.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Everyone in Hankook, from Seung Hwa Suh (pictured), the company's chief executive to mid-ranking technical staff believes that Hankook's tyres are competitive in terms of technical performance and price, but that the...

Manufacturing technology - more evolution than revolution; Hankook believes its manufacturing operations are as efficient and productive as any other tyre factory - and better than most. The company runs plants 351 days/year and is learning to deal with the technology needed to produce smaller lot sizes.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw According to Chief strategy officer, Hyun Bum Cho, "In terms of running the plant, we are very good. That is one of the things Michelin wants to learn from us. They have told us they want to learn that from us." One...

Laboratories excel at analysis.(Global Tyre Report)(Hankook Tire Manufacturing Company Limited)
November 1, 2007... Hankook has invested heavily in its technical centres in recent years. Today the company has four tech centres around the world and intends to upgrade its representative office in Japan to a full technical centre within six months. Overall...

Investments slow from last year, but Asia still dominates tyre industry spending: Part 1 of 2.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Group Michelin's recent blitz of capital investment disclosures-a new plant in Mexico plus expansions in the US and Canada-pushed the French company over the $1800 million capital spending level for the past 12 months, outdistancing No. 2...

Conti to build [euro]150 million tyre factory in China; * Factory on stream by 2010* Not a joint venture.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Namrita Chow After nearly a decade of searching-and one aborted attempt at a joint venture-Continental AG has settled on Hefei City in Anhui Province as the site for its first tyre plant in China. The plant, to be operational...

Bridgestone aims to spend [euro]1500 million each year on Capex.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Bridgestone's incremental mid-term management plan has been revised with a reported commitment for capital spending up to [yen]250 000 million ([euro]1500 million) per year over the next five years. The first sentence of the plan reads,...

briefs.
November 1, 2007... NR prices now above $2.50 / kg Singapore - Natural rubber prices rose by around 20 percent in September and October, but fell back in November. In Singapore RSS1 peaked just above 370 Singapore cents per kilo ($2.55), with futures...

Tyre plants cross reference.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... This table is meant to be read in conjunction with the tables on the preceding pages. It lists all the companies which have tyre factories in more than one country and then lists all tyre plants operated bythat company in order of geographic...

Court ruling could destroy US scrap tyre industry, expert says.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... A US federal appeals court ruling on Clean Air Act definitions of tyre-derived fuel (TDF) could cause as many as 90 percent of scrap tyre processors to go out of business, according to one of America's top scrap tyre management experts. ...

Israel begins enforcement of scrap tyre laws.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Israel's environment ministry said it has begun a national campaign aimed at enforcing the tyre disposal and recycling law, introduced in July this year. During the campaign, "Green Police" inspectors visited 114 tyre repair shops,...

Vibracoustic announces first silicone rubber engine mount; * NR can't cope with 150[degrees]C* May go into AVS mounts.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw BMW has selected engine mounts using silicone rubber in place of natural rubber for its 335i model. The model has been in production for a year, but this is the first time the innovation has been announced. The units...

briefs.(Freudenberg-NOK appoints Dr Mehdi Ilkhani-Pour as president)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Freudenberg-NOK appoints Vibracoustic N America president Plymouth, Michigan - Vibracoustic North America, the NVH business of Freudenberg-NOK, has appointed Dr Mehdi Ilkhani-Pour as president, according to a 1 Oct statement from the...

MAPS N America buys most of GDX; units in Spain, France to close.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Eppley Crain's Detroit Business MAPS Holdings Inc. has announced plans to acquire the Farmington Hills-based automotive sealing supplier GDX Automotive for an undisclosed amount. MAPS Holdings is an affiliate of the...

Zodiac, Carlyle and Jandy form JV for boats, pools.(News)
November 1, 2007... Zodiac SA, best known for its inflatable boats, private equity company Carlyle Group and swimming pool company Jandy have formed a joint venture called Zodiac Marine & Pool. Carlyle owns 69 percent of then new company. Zodiac has 27 percent and...

Avon wins NIOSH approval for Z-Seven SCBA.(News)
November 1, 2007... Avon Rubber plc said its Viking Z Seven has received National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) certification and full approval to the new National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 2007 standards. CAPTION(S): ...

Avon Rubber wins go-ahead for M50 mask in US.(News)
November 1, 2007... The US military has authorised full-scale purchases of Avon Rubber's M50 mask said Avon. The company expects orders in the first year to exceed $40 million ([euro]27.5 m). CAPTION(S): Terry Stead - Avon CEO

China's rubber industry hit by high raw material prices - study.(News)(Report)
November 1, 2007... Information broker Research & Markets is selling a report on China's rubber industry. The 102-page report, "China Rubber Industry Report, 2007-2008 " was first published in September 2007 by Research In China and costs around [euro]1700...

Kraton moves into condom business with IR latex.(News)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Kraton's recent expansion of its isoprene rubber latex facility in Paulinia, Brazil, is allowing it to move into the premium dipped rubber goods market. The company is now supplying its materials to SSL international...

Michelin places large extruder order with Berstorff.(News)
November 1, 2007... Michelin and KraussMaffei Berstorff have concluded a significant contract for the supply of high output, high quality extrusion lines for the premium truck tyre segment, said Berstorff in a press statement. KraussMaffei Berstorff said it...

EC tyre noise discussion document causes a storm among Europe's tyre makers: Part 1 of 2; Noise targets proposed by the EC are going to prove hard to meet, claim Europe's tyre makers.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw In August, the EC published a discussion document on regulations for tyre noise and rolling resistance. The section on noise has caused a major storm within the industry. In a formal response to the document, the...

EC tyre noise discussion document causes a storm among Europe's tyre makers: Part 2 of 2; Noise targets proposed by the EC are going to prove hard to meet, claim Europe's tyre makers.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... Byline: David Shaw Independent testing reports All tyre makers strive to obtain good test results in the independent tests carried out by consumers associations, motoring organisations and car magazines. In Germany , Austria and...

Investments slow from last year, but Asia still dominates tyre industry spending: Part 2 of 2.(Global Tyre Report)
November 1, 2007... GOODYEAR * An undisclosed sum to build new plants in Eastern Europe and Asia and modernise/expand plants in Gadsden, Alabama, and Fayetteville, North Carolina * $100 million over four years to expand production of high-value tyres at...