French tyre-maker Michelin’s profitability suffered in early 2019 despite its first-half revenue and operating earnings – net income fell 8% to US$940 million; operating margin fell to 12.2% from 12.5%; and sales of the car/light-truck tyres fell by 7.9%, further…
Category: Industry News
Continental’s Portugal plant produces 15 millionth tyre
Tyre manufacturer Continental has reached its 15 millionth ContiSeal passenger tyre production in Lousado, Portugal – specifically a 255/45-R19 ContiSportContact-5 SUV tyre designed for a Volkswagen. The milestone comes after the corporation’s investment efforts in June 2019. ContiSeal tyres have…
PCBL India unveils new R&D centre in Gujarat
India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of carbon black (CB), Phillips Carbon Black (PCBL), has launched their new Sushila Goenka Research and Development Centre in Palej, Gujarat, to facilitate the development of new products required by the tyre and other industries…
Trelleborg to cut 700 jobs by 2020
Poor demand is expected to push Sweden’s Trelleborg Group to terminate up to 700 permanent/temporary contracts, mainly concerning employees at Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) and Trelleborg Industrial Solutions. A majority of their workforce is to leave by 2020, after a…
Top Glove to open first Vietnam factory next year
Malaysia’s Top Glove will open its first Vietnamese factory in 2020 in response to surging demand for hygienic gloves in the country. The glove giant is expected to invest some US$24.5 million into building the new factory on a large…
ANRPC to discuss sustainability at annual meeting
The auto-tyre manufacturing industry is apparently “limiting” smallholder-dominated natural rubber (NR) sustainability norms, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC). Some 90% of the global supply of NR comes from the smallholdings production sector, but the resource-poor…
ITRC expects low NR production after disease outbreak
The International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) has reviewed the efforts of its Member Countries in late June 2019, to ensure a robust natural rubber (NR) supply. Unfortunately, NR production is expected to drop this year following an outbreak of Pestalotiopsis…
Vibracoustic opens new centre for compounds testing
Global automotive solutions provider Vibracoustic has opened a 2,000sqm Material Development Center in Weinheim, Germany, to house 25 material experts who will collaborate with Vibracoustic engineers to produce and conduct comprehensive testing on new compounds/technology. The new centre is expected…
Hainan Rubber to acquire latex foam furniture maker Aidefu
China Hainan Rubber Group (Hainan Rubber) plans to acquire an 80% share in latex pillow/mattress manufacturer, Jiangsu Aidefu Latex Products (Aidefu), for US$53.4 million. Hainan Rubber is principally engaged in the planting, processing and distribution of natural rubber. The company’s…
IRSG’s call for research papers on sustainable rubber development for smallholders
Singapore-headquartered intergovernmental rubber group, International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), is inviting academicians, young economists and researchers to submit rubber-related economic research under the hashtag #IRSGforResearch. This year, the theme the association has selected is “How can rubber smallholders achieve sustainable…