China’s Qingdao Doublestar Co. has signed an agreement with South Korean tyre maker Kumho Tire creditors to buy a 42% stake worth US$830 million. With this deal, Doublestar could become China’s largest tyre maker and in the running as the top…
Rubber export option brings hope to Indian growers despite low local prices
Local rubber growers and tappers in India are optimistic this tapping season despite falling domestic prices as production is forecasted to increase and export options open up. “The season for tapping latex was to wind up in February. But because…
Swan Chemical is exclusive distributor of Robac Technology in US, Canada
Swan Chemical, Inc. (SCI) has been chosen as the exclusive distributor of Robinson Brothers Robac Technology brand, which offers an innovative portfolio of rubber accelerators and polymer chemicals, in the US and Canada. SCI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thomas…
ChemSpec to distribute JHSi’s silane coupling agents in North America
ChemSpec, a chemicals company based in Ohio in the US, has signed an agreement with the largest silane coupling agent manufacturer in China, Jingzhou Jianghan Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. (JHSi), to be the exclusive distributor of the latter’s more than…
Kerala exports Rs30 mn worth of rubber to Brazilian company
Manimalayar Rubbers Private Ltd., a company owned jointly by India’s Rubber Board and the Rubber Producers’ Societies (RPSs), is venturing into rubber exportation with the sales deal it made with by Industria de Artefatos de Borracha, a company based at…
US NRL develops lighter transparent thermoplastic elastomer armor
A lighter and easily repairable transparent thermoplastic elastomer has been developed and patented by research chemists at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The new features will allow bullet-resistant glass to have reduced weight while still maintaining superior ballistic properties.…
Ghana Rubber to begin construction of EUR50 mn rubber factory
The Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL), which has the largest industrial rubber plantation in the West African nation, is set to start construction of its EUR50 million rubber factory at Agona in the Western Region. Upon completion, the facility will…
Goodyear unveils Eagle-360 spherical concept tyre for autonomous driving
American multinational tyre manufacturing company Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has unveiled its futuristic spherical concept tyre, Eagle-360, designed for autonomous driving. The spherical, 3-D printed tyre highlights Goodyear’s vision for the future and presents an inspiring solution for the…
Antimicrobial silicone invented by Lithuanian researchers
A PhD student at the Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)in Lithuania, with the help of her supervisor, has successfully invented an antimicrobial silicone which, they believe, will be extremely useful both for household and medical purposes. Aiste Lisauskaite, a student…
ANRPC forecasts NR output to surpass demand by 3 mn tonnes in 2017
The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has forecasted natural rubber (NR) production in 2017 to surpass demand by 3 million tonnes. In 2016, natural rubber output surpassed demand by 2.7 million tonnes. As per the report released by…







