US renewable chemicals firm EcoSynthetix, which produces a family of latex biobased products, has commissioned a 36,000 tonne/year-production line within its existing US facility. The firm also installed a 36,000-tonne/year line at its Dutch plant last year, bringing its total…
Category: Investments
China sets up Nd-BR project and hits high on carbon black
TO support the development and production of neodymium-catalysed butadiene rubber (Nd-BR), China has initiated a four-year project to study the chemistry, engineering and practicality of a pilot-scale reactor. The project involves the nation’s top research institutions and universities such as…
Michelin sells Paris hq, builds plants in US and Serbia
AFTER consolidating its Paris-based staff operations to a new site in Boulogne-Billancourt, French tyre maker Michelin has sold the 12,000 sq m property for EUR110 million to domestic insurance group Covea. Michelin will earn a capital gain of nearly EUR100…
Kraton and Formosa tie-up for HSBCs
US-based styrenic block copolymers producer Kraton Performance Polymers has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Formosa Petrochemical to construct the previously announced 30,000-tonne hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC) plant in Mailiao, Taiwan. It will start up by 2014. Kraton says…
Yokohama re-starts plan to build Indian plant
JAPANESE firm Yokohama Rubber is investing 4.4 billion yen to construct a passenger car tyre plant in Delhi, India. To start up by 2014, the first phase will have a capacity of 700,000 tyres/year. The project has been on hold…
Olam to plant rubber in Gabon
SINGAPORE-based Olam International, a global, integrated supply chain manager and processor of agricultural products and food ingredients, is partnering with the Government of the Republic of Gabon to develop 28,000 ha of rubber plantations in Gabon in Phase 1. The…
Green EnviroTech to enter tyre recycling
US-based firm Green EnviroTech Holdings’s main focus will be the conversion of plastic and tyres to oil, and shredder residue to oil and compound plastic resin. The company’s intention is to enter into the plastic and tyre recycling market by…
Conti forecasts higher tyre sales and buys Indian firm
GERMAN automotive firm Continental expects its sales to rise more than 5% in its current fiscal year while its sales last year rose 17% to EUR30.5 billion. Its tyre division had combined sales of EUR8.8 billion from passenger and light…
Yulex and Cooper tie-up for guayule
THE continuous decline of natural rubber is driving companies in the tyre industry to identify alternative sources. US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber has teamed up with another US company Yulex to evaluate and develop guayule polymers and resins for tyre…
Growth in India for firms
JAPANESE firm Tokai Rubber Industries has officially opened a factory for producing anti-vibration systems for cars and light trucks in Bangalore, India. Operating as Tokai Rubber Auto-Parts India, the 8,000 sq m factory began operations in January. Prior to this,…