Sumitomo Rubber Industries has provided an update on research undertaken together with two partners, reporting they have “shed new light on the mysteries” surrounding the rubber vulcanisation process in tyre production. This knowledge may help the Falken brand manufacturer “further improve overall tyre performance” in future.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, manufacturer of the Falken tyre brand as well as Dunlop tyres for many markets outside Europe, reports a breakthrough that will “accelerate the development of the ultimate fuel-efficient tyres.” This breakthrough involves tomatoes.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) and its research partners have developed a technology for measuring the structure and chemical state of matter at a nanoscale level and have employed this to visualise the sulphur compounds within lithium-sulphur batteries in greater detail than ever before. SRI anticipates not only improving the performance of lithium-sulphur batteries – the technology may also lead to better-performing tyres.
Sumitomo Rubber SA (SRSA) is following up its Dunlop Container road safety and sustainable township entrepreneurship project established in 2012 with a further training scheme. Dunlop’s Enterprise Development dealers can now apply to send their employees for training in one of four focus areas: Technical Skills, Occupational Health & Safety, Business Acumen and Sales and Customer Care. SRSA will select candidates from the applications for the fully funded training.
The Yaris Cross GR Sport, a tweaked version of Toyota’s small crossover, launched in Japan this month and rides on Falken Azenis FK510 SUV tyres as standard. Sumitomo Rubber Industries is supplying the tyre as original equipment in size 215/50R18 92V.
On 17 August, Sumitomo Rubber (China) announced that the company is ending the sale and production of truck tyres in China. From 2023, the company will no longer produce and sell truck and bus tyres for the Chinese market. From April 2024, Sumitomo Rubber (China) will no longer manufacture truck and bus tyres for overseas markets.
Falken is an original equipment tyre on the latest Nissan X-Trail, which launched in Japan in July and will be unveiled in the UK on 6 September. Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) is supplying the Falken Ziex ZE310A Ecorun to Nissan Motor Corporation in size 235/60R18 103H.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) intends to raise production capacities at a number of its facilities around the world, but at the same time will remove some products from its portfolio in order to address rising costs. It will also aim for more “flexible” production allocation in response to changes in the business environment.
Construction work to expand the Sumitomo Rubber USA plant in Tonawanda, New York is progressing following the official groundbreaking at the site on 29 March, and in the coming two to three years the tyre maker will invest US$129 million in a project that will boost production capacity by 50 per cent. After erecting a 5,100 square metre plant building this summer, Sumitomo will install new mixing machines, tyre presses and tyre building machines. Plant manager Tim Sprunger says the expanded facility will feature a high level of automation.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) reports that its tyre factory in Turkey has gained ISO 50001:2018 certification for its energy management system. The Sumitomo Rubber AKO Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. facility in Çankırı, which produces passenger and light commercial vehicle tyres under the Falken and Dunlop brand names, is the third factory in the Sumitomo Rubber Group to obtain ISO 50001 certification, following the previous certification of factories in China (Changshu) and Brazil.
Michelin remains the world’s leading tyre company by sales turnover, but Bridgestone is close behind in one of three close battles distributed across the table. For the first time, our research ranking market-leading global tyre manufacturers in terms of sales turnover converted into euros, illustrates the impact of recent high-profile acquisitions as well as the ongoing disruption of pandemic on the wider market landscape.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. has signed on to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative officially added the Japanese tyre and rubber products manufacturer to its registry of participating companies on 19 May 2022.
Japanese tyre maker Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (SRI) says its collaboration in a research project has resulted in a technique that may improve natural rubber yields and even enable natural rubber biosynthesis within a laboratory.
A joint project between Sumitomo Rubber Industries, parent company of Falken Tyre Europe, and Professor Hiroshi Tani of Japan’s Kansai University has resulted in the development of an innovative power generator for tyres. It generates electricity from the rotation of the tyre and uses this to power peripheral sensors installed within the tyre. In this way, the sensors can operate without the need for batteries.
SRI
Sumitomo Rubber Industries