Tyre additive firm Flexsys has announced two milestones in the effort to develop a 6PPD replacement for use in tyres. Following the November 2025 announcement that Flexsys has developed the world’s first viable alternative to 6PPD, the company has now completed screening…
Bridgestone/Kyushu University advance on guayule rubber productivity
As part of the Fukuoka Bio Community Project, National University Corporation, Japan’s Kyushu University has started a joint research project with Bridgestone Corporation to contribute to the improvement of guayule-derived natural rubber productivity. Unlike the paragum tree, which grows unevenly…
Trelleborg acquires US sealing firm
Sweden’s Trelleborg Group, through its business area Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, has signed an agreement to acquire Cascade Gasket and Manufacturing Company Inc., headquartered in Auburn outside Seattle, Washington, USA. The company specialises in advanced solutions for critical sealing and components…
Cordiant undertakes 3D printing of tyres
Russian tyre maker Cordiant says a holding company has started 3D printing full-scale prototypes of new tyres. The equipment has been installed at the firm’s R&D unit at the Yaroslavl tyre plant.A 1:1 scale model allows engineers to see the…
Sumitomo Rubber to discontinue supply of kart tyres
Sumitomo Rubber Industries says it will stop supplying Dunlop-branded kart tyres on Dec. 31, 2027. The company said the decision followed a review of how to run the business and allocate management resources in response to changes in the operating…
Bekaert to sell tyre cord production site in Italy
Due to tight market conditions, Belgian firm Bekaert says it has signed a preliminary agreement with Nuova Icom, a Sardinian industrial engineering and metalworking company, to revive its Macchiareddu site in Sardinia (Italy). The preliminary agreement signed with Nuova Icom…
EU project to produce biobased rubber from food waste
An EU-funded Horizon Europe initiative known as the Rubbio project is aiming to manufacture high-performance, bio-based synthetic rubbers: specifically polybutadiene (PB), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), from starch-rich bread and potato waste. Besides the production of three…
ETIC licenses EPDM tech to Yulin for China plant
Japanese elastomer engineering and plant-design consultancy ETIC has signed an EPDM manufacturing technology licensing agreement with China’s state-owned Guoneng Yulin Chemical for a new 50,000-tonne/year plant in Yulin City, Shaanxi province. The project is planned as ETIC’s third EPDM technology…
Dunlop ties up with Thai universities to improve rubber yields
Dunlop under Sumitomo Rubber Industries has announced that it has signed a joint research agreement in Thailand as a project under the Hevea Research Platform in Partnership (HRPP), an international platform for natural rubber research. The other parties to the…
Continental develops tyre with 40% recycled materials content
As part of the EU-funded ZEvRA project, German tyre maker Continental has developed a concept tyre made from around 43% recycled materials. The project name ZEvRA stands for “Zero Emission Electric Vehicles Enabled by Harmonized Circularity.” The two-year EU project…






