Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider taking used rubber tyres off the list of goods for temporary import and re-export permits. The intention is to limit stockpiles at ports and check the…
Ricoh develops energy-generating rubber
Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company, Ricoh has created a novel flexible material, “Energy-Generating Rubber” that converts pressure and vibration into electric energy with high efficiency. Currently, piezoelectric materials, which generate electricity with mechanical strain, are drawing attention as energy-harvesting*…
New BKT cotton field tyre made more robust with IF technology
BKT has recently developed a new size of Agrimax Teris, the tyre for harvesters, as “IF” version: 580/80 R 34. The new product has been specifically designed for the purpose of supporting farm machinery in cotton fields, where resistance, flotation…
Austrian researchers create artificial blood vessels with elastomers
Vienna University of Technology and Vienna Medical University have developed artificial blood vessels made from a special elastomer material, which has excellent mechanical properties. Over time, these artificial blood vessels are replaced by endogenous material. At the end of this…
Microrobots that can tow heavy weights
Stanford University researchers have developed tiny new robots, the MicroTugs that can pull nearly 2,000 times their own weight. Through use of a special directional adhesive, the MicroTugs utilise the van der Waals force, the same force used by ants…
Bridgestone Asia Pacific tech centre moving to larger Thailand facility
Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte Ltd announced that Bridgestone Asia Pacific Technical Center Co Ltd (APTC), a wholly-owned subsidiary, held a ceremony to celebrate its relocation to its new laboratory building in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand. With this new facility, APTC…
China may buy Thai rubber at price above market value
Thailand hopes to finalise an agreement with China soon for the purchase of 200,000 tonnes of rubber at above-market prices to encourage price rises in the future and improve the incomes of Thai farmers. After leading a mission of Thai…
72 killed in fire at rubber footwear factory in Philippines
A fire that engulfed a footwear factory in a suburb of the Philippine capital has killed 72 people, authorities said Thursday. The blaze swept through the slipper and shoe factory in Valenzuela City on Wednesday, sending huge clouds of thick…
AirBoss, Flexible Products make strides since acquisition
Timing is everything. When AirBoss of America Corp. purchased Flexible Products Co. for US$51 million from the Reid family in late October 2013, it proved to be an extremely astute move. Both companies have made out well thus far. Flexible…
Nokian claims world first with AA-labelled winter SUV tyre
The introduction of the European tyre label in November 2012 resulted in murmurs from some tyre makers – most notably Nokian Tyres – about its unsuitability for appraising their winter ranges, and the Finnish manufacturer even went as far as…








