Tag: rubber
Russia, Saudi Arabia to finalize rubber joint venture by end of 2018
Russia and Saudi Arabia will finalize several joint projects by the end of 2018, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak recently told journalists. The projects referred to see Saudi Aramco partner with Russain firms Sibur and Novatek. The Sibur plant plans centre on a particularly significantly sized rubber factory.
Hexpol buys 80% of Mesgo for 168 million euros
On 1 October Hexpol completed the acquisition of 80 per cent of the shares of Italian compounder Mesgo Group from previous owner Francesco Caldara and co-owners. Hexpol describes Mesgo as “an industry leader in high performance elastomers as fluorocarbons and silicone”. In addition, Mesgo also specializes in conventional rubber compounds and thermoplastics. The major customer segments Mesgo focuses on are industry, consumer products, transportation and automotive. Mesgo Group reports annual turnover of around 100 million euros, with around 180 employees in six facilities.
Vietnamese tyre exports nearly US$1 billion in 2017
Vietnamese tyre exports were worth US$920 million in 2017, up 44.2 per cent from 2016. Meanwhile, local tyre production enjoyed a trade surplus of $564 million in 2017, doubling the amount gained in the previous year.
ExxonMobil opens Singapore butyl and resins plants
On 21 June 2018 ExxonMobil announced it had started production of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and halobutyl rubber at its integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore, the company’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world. ExxonMobil’s new Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins plant will be the world’s largest with a capacity of 90,000 tonnes per year, and will meet long-term demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging or baby diapers. The new 140,000-tonnes-per-year butyl plant will produce premium halobutyl rubber used by manufacturers for tyres to better maintain inflation to improve fuel economy.
BKT partnering with Kultevat on dandelion rubber development
Instead of just finding dandelions growing in fields, we may soon also find them in the tyres of tractors and other agricultural vehicles that traverse these fields. Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT) sees a future for these plants as a material within the tyres it makes; it recently entered into a joint research agreement with US biotechnology company Kultevat, Inc. to develop new compounding methods based on TKS/Russian dandelion rubber, with the aim of integrating these into its tyre manufacturing process.
Vietnam Rubber Group announces IPO
Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG), a state-owned business and country’s largest rubber producer/exporter, is scheduled to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on 2 February 2018 with shares being listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in June or July.
Sri Lanka rubber sector aiming to become $3 billion a year industry by 2020
The Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Products (SLAMERP) celebrated its 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Cinnamon Grand Colombo on the 16 January 2018. The association was inaugurated in 1985 in order to offer “comprehensive representation, advocacy and to champion to all manufacturers and exporters of rubber products in Sri Lanka”.
Work starting on Continental’s Russian dandelion rubber lab
For the past six years, Continental has worked with partners on projects to source rubber from Russian dandelions for its tyre production. In 2016, the company announced plans to establish a new facility for industrialising this process. A seven-acre site in Anklam, not far from Germany’s Baltic coast, was selected for this research laboratory. The tyre maker now reports that groundbreaking for the 35 million-euro initial phase of its Taraxagum Lab Anklam will take place this coming Monday.
Apollo Tyres & research partner obtain ENR patent
A patent has been granted in India for a special grade of epoxidised natural rubber (ENR) jointly developed by the research and development team at Apollo Tyres and the Rubber Research Institute of India. The tyre rubber compound was granted patent no. 287630 by the Government of India’s Patent Office on 21 September.
Materials informatics providing Yokohama Rubber with new possibilities for rubber materials
In addition to developing a new, informatics-based tyre design technology, Yokohama Rubber says it has established a development technology for rubber materials based on materials informatics. The company expects this new technology will “dramatically raise the accuracy and speed of the development of rubber materials with unprecedented high-performance characteristics.”
DowDuPont raises polymer prices
As soon as contracts allow, but generally effective 16 October, DowDuPont Transportation & Advanced Polymers, a business segment of the DowDuPont Specialty Products Division, will increase prices for all DuPont Zytel and DuPont Delrin products.
China starts anti-dumping probe into EU rubber imports
At the end of August China’s Ministry of Commerce began a year-long anti-dumping investigations into imported hydrogenated butyl rubber from the European Union, the United Sates and Singapore.
‘Hybrid’ rubber offers hope of self-healing tyres
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) encourages us to “imagine a tyre that could heal after being punctured,” and a team from the school has done more than just imagine – according to SEAS, its researchers have “developed a new type of rubber that is as tough as natural rubber but can also self-heal.”
Chemspec celebrates one year in México’s “automotive/rubber triangle”
Ohio-based ChemSpec, Ltd., a member of the Safic-Alcan Group family of companies, formed a subsidiary, Chemspec México, S. DE RL DE C.V., in August 2016 to serve the rapid growth of automotive manufacturing in México, specifically in the central states−often referred to as the “automotive/rubber triangle” region. ChemSpec México is strategically based in Querétaro, with additional warehousing and logistics business support in nearby Laredo, TX. 12 months on the company is celebrating its first year of success.
Evonik and Wacker back German technology fund
Evonik and Wacker Chemie are among the investors in a $335 million fund intended to finance young start-up firms in Germany, both companies announced. The country’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the German state-run KfW Development Bank are the main investors in the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) III, which will also help the start-ups put their business concepts into practice.