JAPAN-headquartered Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. , a supplier Toyota Motor , is planning to expand its US production. The move is said to be part of its plan to channel more investments on products that can give more profits,…
Tokai completes buy-out of Produflex
JAPANESE firm Tokai Rubber Industries (TRI), Ltd has completed the purchase of all the outstanding quotas of Brazil-based Produflex Minas Indústria de Borrachas Ltda. This is the second acquisition of automotive anti-vibration rubber manufacturers by TRI after the acquisition of…
FELDA starts NR processing plant in Myanmar
AGRICULTURAL and agri-commodities company, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is expecting to start operations at its natural rubber (NR) processing plant in Myanmar this year. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between FGV and Myanmar’s Pho La Min Trading…
India extends validity of anti-dumping tax on rubber chemicals
INDIA’s Finance Ministry has extended for another year the enforced anti-dumping duty on certain rubber chemicals, used in treating natural rubber and synthetic rubber-based compounds, from China and South Korea. Anti-dumping duties for rubber chemicals MBT, CBS, TDQ, PVI, and…
Wacker introduces tin-free catalyst for silicone rubber
MUNICH-based chemical firm, Wacker Chemie AG, will be presenting a tin-free catalyst for condensation-curing silicone rubber grades at the upcoming K 2013 show in Düsseldorf, Germany this October. According to the company’s press release, the ELASTOSIL Catalyst NEO, was tailored…
SafeRubber to develop thiourea-based accelerators substitute
THE SafeRubber project has received EC funding under the FP7 framework to develop a new, safe, multifunctional accelerator curative molecule, which can replace thiourea-based accelerators in the vulcanisation process. Thiourea-based accelerators are used in the vulcanisation of polychloroprene rubber, primarily…
Quingdao rubber inventory down by 3%
RUBBER inventories in China’s bonded warehouses dropped close to 3% in the past weeks as commercial banks refuse lending money to tyre makers forcing the latter to cut down imports and buy domestic stocks instead. Rubber at Qingdao has also…
ContiTech takes over Legg
CONTITECH Conveyor Belt Group acquires Kansas-based conveyor belt manufacturer Legg Company Inc., as part of its expansion move in the North America. Legg focuses production of conveyor belts for industrial applications , such as in cement plants, paper mills, and…
US firm develops new formulation for EPDM materials
US FIRM Minnesota Rubber and Plastics has developed a new technology to improve chloramine resistance of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) materials for use in plumbing applications. According to its latest press release, these new compounds have no signs of…
BASF upgrades phenolic resin facility in Verbund
SPECIALITY chemicals firm BASF is increasing by 50% its production capacity of Kerosin, a branded phenolic resin used as a tackifier for tyre manufacturing, at Ludwigshafen, Verbund in Germany. The company has been producing Koresin from acetylene and t-butylphenol at…






