US speciality chemicals company Kraton Corporation has agreed to sell its Cariflex business unit, a maker of isoprene rubber latex, to South Korean petrochemical and engineering & construction company Daelim Industrial for US$530 million. The transaction is expected to close in…
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Doublestar trials production at new tyre factory; to build scrap tyre recycling plant in China
Qingdao Doublestar Group (Doublestar), China’s largest tyre company, has recently started a trial run at its passenger car tyre factory in Shiyan City, Hubei Province. The 4.3 million-sq.-ft. factory, which is Doublestar’s third Chinese Industrial 4.0 factory with full-process smart…
Bridgestone Thailand opens its new OTR tyre factory in Rayong
The Thai subsidiary of auto parts manufacturer Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone), Bridgestone Specialty Tire Manufacturing recently held an opening ceremony for its new tyre factory in Rayong Province, Thailand. The approximately 870,000sqm site is expected to have a production capacity of…
Continental to list powertrain business by 2020; expects auto market downturn over 5 years
Technology firm Continental has decided to fully spin off its powertrain business Vitesco Technologies (Powertrain division) with subsequent listing. The company says it is tackling the accelerating trend toward powertrain electrification and “reacting to the at present largely unpredictable conditions”…
Nokian cuts jobs in Finland due poor sales; will consider relocating employees
Finnish tyre manufacturer Nokian Tyres (Nokian) has just cut 41 jobs related to production, maintenance and testing at its passenger car tyre production plant in Nokian; the company will also carry out temporary layoffs during the remainder of the year…
Mesnac debuts “smart” tyre-building systems and machinery in Qingdao
China-based tyre manufacturing equipment/systems maker Mesnac has recently launched three new tyre-building systems and machines that “will soon cover all of Mesnac’s product line” and boost its product quality. The systems include a machine development system to streamline customisation, a…
Philippines to expand market access for rubber products, includes rubber for agribusiness
The Philippines is looking to implement various initiatives to develop the rubber industry, with investment promotions and trade fairs/expositions soon to be planned and organised locally or internationally by its Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) along with…
Sumitomo’s new AI tech could allow for extended tyre performance
Japanese Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has recently introduced a “groundbreaking” rubber technology – “Tyre Leap AI Analysis” – that could potentially enable prolonged tyre performance, as part of SRI’s tyre concept for the future. The artificial intelligence-based (AI) development of…
Fungal disease outbreak threatens Thailand’s rubber plantations
Thailand is facing an outbreak of fungal disease Pestalotiopsis, recently found in three districts in a key rubber growing province in southern Thailand – affected rubber trees have been identified in a large enough area that could potentially decrease the…
GDT secures US$50mn deal to establish five tyre recycling plants in South Africa
Australian Green Distillation Technologies (GDT) has signed a nearly US$50 million agreement with Volco Power (Volco) to set up five tyre recycling plants in South Africa – the plants will comprise of six tyre processing modules which are to process approximately…