DECLINING demand is seen as the key reason why US-headquartered Dow Chemical has intended to close down its Grangemouth methyl methacrylate butadiene styrene (MBS) plant in the UK. According to Dow, it has already informed the site’s more than 60…
TOP STORY
Gloves Sector: Malaysia’s gloves sector holds its place in a volatile market
As a main exporter of gloves globally, Malaysia is handling suitably geopolitical pressures ...
LSR stretches its industrial footprint
Liquid silicone rubber, or LSR, is an advanced elastomer that has gained traction ...
Tyre Sector: Setting in motion the wheels of change
Once liabilities and eye sore on landfills, end-of-life tyres have now become assets ...
Tyres: Space’s the limit for rubber tyres
Innovative rubber tyres are entering the era of space missions: as a catalyst ...
Medical: Flexible artificial muscles from liquid crystal elastomers
In Canada, an international team led by researchers at the University of Waterloo ...
Mesnac and emFrontier to cooperate for IT and automation solutions
CHINESE tyre and machinery supplier, Mesnac recently signed Strategic Cooperation Agreement with emFrontier, a subsidiary of Hankook, in Qingdao for joint cooperation in the fields of IT solution, factory automation and logistics automation. emFrontier, the IT subsidiary of Hankook Tire,…
Fast growing rubber tree variety to be introduced in the Philippines
A NEW variety of rubber tree, one that grows faster than the normal types, will be introduced to local farmers in South Cotabato (Mindanao), Philippines. Alfonso Jack Sandique, owner of the Advance Rubber Technology Farm in Makilala, also in South…
Sibur ups butyl rubber production in Russian facility
TOLYATTIKAUCHUK, a subsidiary of Russian petrochemicals company, Sibur, has commissioned a third butyl rubber separation line,thus expanding its production capacity from 48 to 53 kilo-tonne per year. The new line is part of an investment project to upgrade the butyl…
PanAridus joins consortium; replaces Yulex in guayule rubber project
ARIZONA-based PanAridus is joining Cooper Tire & Rubber and its consortium partners on a previously-announced US$6.9 million Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) grant toward development of guayule plant-based polymers for use in tyre manufacturing. The BRDI is a joint…
Sarawak farmers received rubber seedlings, fertiliser
SOME 100 farmers in Julau, Sarawak (Malaysia) received 500 rubber seedlings; each also received RM500 worth of fertiliser. 1Malaysia Sarawak Advisory Council (1MSAC) chairman and Julau MP Datuk Joseph Salang handed over the seedlings to the farmers at the Department…
South Africa’s Automotive Leather acquisition deal to close by 2014
CANADA-based Exco Technologies Limited announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Automotive Leather Company Group Limited (ALC), in a cash and stock deal worth US$25 million. Basing on the terms of the definitive agreement, subject to receipt of…
Synthos and Hardwick Standard ties up for SBR, BR sales
EUROPEAN synthetic rubber maker Synthos S.A. has announced a strategic sales alliance with Ohio-based Harwick Standard Distribution Corporation to distribute Synthos styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and butadiene rubber (BR) products in the US and Canada. Synthos is Europe’s largest producer of…
Yet another hurdle for Apollo-Cooper acquisition deal
COOPER Tire & Rubber’s US$2.3 billion acquisition efforts for Indian firm Apollo Tyres has yet stumbled upon another legal setback, paving the way for Apollo to walk away from the deal. In a recent development, the Delaware Supreme Court had…
Rossini’s new Asian plant to operate in 2014
ROSSINI, an Italian manufacturers of rubber rollers, sleeves and mandrels for flexography and gravure presses, has set up a new manufacturing plant in Pune, which is expected to be operational in 2014. It is the company’s only factory in Asia.…