Author: admin

Synthetic rubber to be in short supply

Synthetic rubber and polypropylene (PP) are expected to suffer from short supply as major Japanese automotive makers are set to increase their production between October 2011 and March 2012, according to research firm Platts

Carbon black plant in China

US-based Cabot has opened a new Chinese masterbatch plant to cater to demand from Asia Pacific. It invested US$20 million in the black masterbatch plant located at its Tianjin facility, which is a joint venture with Shanghai Coking and Chemical,…

Bio-based EPDM soon a reality

GERMANY-based Lanxess will produce the first sugar cane-based EPDM at its plant in Brazil by the year end. It will utilise sugar cane-based ethylene from Braskem to produce what it says will be several hundred tonnes of the bio-based EPDM.…

Hankook seeking strategy to increase RI market share

ACKNOWLEDGING the tight competition in Indonesia’s tyre markets, South Korea’s number one tyre producer, Hankook, has built its seventh plant in Cikarang, West Java, “merely” to cut the production costs of tyres they will sell outside Indonesia. The new plant…

Demand for green tyres to boost Lanxess sales

SPECIALITY chemicals company Lanxess expects a boost in demand for high-performance rubbers due to the European Union tyre labelling legislation that comes into effect in 2012 as well as an impending one in South Korea. This it says should spur…

Synthomer group under one roof

SYNTHOMER Group has opened a new Asian regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This follows its acquisition of PolymerLatex and means that the sales offices of Synthomer and PolymerLatex are now combined in the new premises. The company says its…

Recycled tyres and seatbelts for laptop

PKG, an Indian company manufacturing bags innovates used truck tyres and inner tyre tubes to make laptop sleeves. the straps are made from seat belts. The hand-made sleeves come in two sizes: the smaller size can fit a 13-inch notebook…