Thailand-headquartered chemical maker Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) has entered into an agreement to acquire Kordárna Plus a.s., the largest producer of tire cord fabrics in Europe. The Kordárna acquisition includes one production site in the Czech Republic and…
Evonik increases its precipitated silica capacity in Turkey by 400 ktonnes
German chemicals firm Evonik Industries is continuing to expand its silica production capacity in response to high demand within the tyre industry. Precipitated silica are an essential ingredient in tyres with reduced rolling resistance and, as part of Smart Materials,…
Auto leaders join forces to advance autonomous technology
Autonomous driving is creating a need for a new breed of in-vehicle networking solutions that can transmit data between the increasing number of high-resolution sensors, cameras and processing engines at blazing-fast speeds. Taking this cue, Aquantia, Bosch, Continental, NVIDIA, and…
Omnova to close latex facility in the US; decline in business due to paper sector
Omnova Solutions says that it will close its production facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where it makes around 59,000 tonnes/year of styrene butadiene (SB) emulsions, due to a revamp in its US facilities and to cut costs. It will continue operation…
ExxonMobil Singapore starts up butyl and hydrocarbon resin plants
Kuraray forms jv with PTT and Sumitomo for butadiene output in Thailand
Japanese chemical firm Kuraray Co. Ltd has entered a into joint venture agreement with Thai petrochemical company PTT Global and chemical firm Sumitomo Corp. to produce butadiene derivatives. Kuraray will have 53.3% share in the jv while PTT and Sumitomo will 33.4% and…
Nokian to increase capacity in Finland; adding on more shifts
Finnish tyre maker Nokian Tyres is planning to increase its passenger car tyre production capacity at its Finnish factory by 30% by changing work shifts. It is currently running three shifts five days a week and by 2019, the factory…
Dow Performance and Momentive launch new silicone products
Dow Performance Silicones further enhanced design flexibilities and processing options for consumer device and display OEMs with the addition of two new products, Dowsil SE 9100 and Dowsil SE 9160 adhesives, to its portfolio of one-part, room-temperature cure (RTV) silicone…
Rose Mill acquires rubber additives processor
Rose Mill Company, a US-based processor of industrial chemicals and minerals, has acquired another US firm, rubber pre-weigh additives processor PPS/Chempac of Lebanon, TN. The acquisition provides for the continued production of pre-weigh additives as well as an expansion of…
China/US trade war affects rubber and other commodity prices
Prices of commodities from iron ore to rubber took a tumble in China, with investor sentiments shaken by the import duties imposed by both countries, amidst intensifying trade war between Beijing and Washington that could hurt the world’s second largest…






