Ernest Pouttu, President and CEO of Harwick Standard announced the following promotions effective April 1, 2024. William M. Knezevich has been named Vice President Marketing and Rodney L. Crowell has been promoted to Vice President of Sales.

Mississippi Lime Company has launched a new global brand platform and will begin operating under the name MLC. The transformation of the company’s identity reflects MLC’s progress as an international lime solutions partner with an unwavering commitment to safety, sustainability and service.  

As of 2023, the TPEE market is worth more than $292 billion worldwide and is anticipated to grow in the following years. Globally, the dominant market is the Asia Pacific with China at the forefront. The latter obtains the most significant share owing to the great performance of the local automobile and electronics sector, which are the principal TPEE customers. The thermoplastic polyester elastomer market share would generate revenue of USD 542 Billion by 2036 end and grow at a CAGR of 6% from 2024 to 2036 according to Research Nester

2024 marks a significant milestone for Continental’s tire manufacturing operations in the United States. Three key plants celebrate their anniversaries: 5 years in Clinton, Mississippi, 10 years in Sumter, South Carolina, and 50 years in Mount Vernon, Illinois. With an annual production capacity of more than 16 million tires and a team of more than 6,700 local manufacturing employees, Continental is amongst the top tire manufacturers in the U.S.. In the last decade alone, the company has invested more than $1.5 billion USD in its American tire manufacturing operations. Continental is committed to premium product quality, innovation, and growth in the U.S. market. Thus, the premium tire manufacturer is continuously investing in the expansion of its tire plants.

Christoph Kowitz, currently head of WACKER’s Corporate Research Department, takes charge of the Group’s U.S. subsidiary Wacker Chemical Corporation (WCC) at the beginning of May. He succeeds David Wilhoit who has been responsible for WACKER’s North and Central American business since 2015 and is now retiring.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it is supplying its GEOLANDAR A/T G015 tires as original equipment (OE) to Toyota Motor Corporation for use on the automaker’s new CROWN CROSSOVER RS “LANDSCAPE”, a special edition of CROWN CROSSOVER. The new vehicle was launched in April 2024 in Japan.

General Silicones Co., Ltd. (GS), to participate in Hannover Messe 2024, showcasing a spectrum of innovative silicone products. From April 22-26, visitors can explore GS’s cutting-edge solutions at Hall 3, Stand A64-12, including their hallmark Compo-SiL® silicone decorative film

Thin, flat sheets of paper covered in silicone or another release agent are called paper release liners. They are employed in the protection and separation of adhesive materials, such as labels and tapes, to prevent adhesion during application, storage, and transit. The growing need for pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) and other adhesive technologies across a range of industries, including automotive, electronics, healthcare, and food and beverage, is the main driver of the paper release liners market. Furthermore, the market is expanding because to the rising need for environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and sustainable release liners.

Synthomer plc announced an agreement to divest its latex compounding operations to Belgian company Matco NV, a leader in compounds, water-based adhesives, and solutions for various industrial applications, for consideration of c.€27.5m.

TechnoBiz is accepting delegate registrations for the upcoming “RUBBER WEEK 2024” during 22-26 April 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand at Century Park Hotel. It has 3 specialized conferences and 9 short training courses aimed for rubber industry professionals across the world. This is a Hybrid Program. Participants can choose either in-person participation or online participation.

Century Mold Company, Inc., a North American injection molder serving Automotive, Military, Industrial, and Consumer markets, announced the acquisition of Integrity Injection Molding (IIM), the molding division of Integrity Tool & Mold. The acquisition strengthens CM’s capabilities in precision, high tonnage presses, in response to rising North America demand for these capabilities.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the global governing body of men’s professional tennis, that makes it the ATP Tour’s first Official Tire Partner (a Gold Partner).

The ATP Tour entertains a billion global fans and showcases the world’s greatest players at the most prestigious tournaments. Yokohama Rubber’s partnership with the ATP Tour is aimed at increasing awareness of the YOKOHAMA brand in the European market. The Company will be sponsoring five tournaments in the European countries of Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Monaco, including the Nitto ATP Finals, the ATP Tour’s prestigious season finale featuring only the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the annual rankings.

Leading the Liquid Silicone Rubber Market are top industry players such as Dow Inc., Wacker Chemie AG, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Momentive Performance Materials Inc., Elkem AS, NuSil Technology LLC, KCC Corporation, Stockwell Elastomerics Inc., Reiss Manufacturing Inc., and SIMTEC Silicone Parts LLC. These key companies play a significant role in advancing liquid silicone rubber products through their impactful contributions and innovative practices.

Dow announced its expanded investment in MobilityScience™ capabilities by opening the doors of its first European MobilityScience™ Studio in Correggio, Italy, marking its long-term commitment to the mobility industry as it continues to transform and grow.
The new studio will allow Dow to further collaborate with Tiers and OEMs on-site and beyond, growing its existing innovative solutions. In expanding its presence in Italy, the studio will support Dow’s Research & Development and Technical Services & Development engineers in focusing on new sustainable solutions within the mobility market and others, paving the way for new ecosystem collaborations in Europe.

LyondellBasell installs a state-of-the-art KARO® 5.0 laboratory stretching machine from Brückner Maschinenbau at the LyondellBasell (LYB) Technical Center in Akron, Ohio. The KARO® 5.0 will greatly enhance the company’s ability to develop and test masterbatch solutions for various oriented film applications.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. was awarded the Environmental Achievement of the Year－Manufacturing at the “Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence” in recognition of its use of hydrogen energy and solar power for tire production. The award ceremony was performed at the “Tire Technology Expo 2024” which was held this past March 18th through 21st in Hanover, Germany.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., and its employee-backed YOKOHAMA Magokoro Fund will donate a combined ¥1 million (¥500,000 each from the company and the Fund) through the Japanese Red Cross Society to support relief efforts in the quake-stricken region.

Milliken & Company will bring its full range of additive and colorant solutions for polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) plastics to NPE 2024 on May 6-10, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. NPE: The Plastics Show is the largest plastics trade show in the Americas—drawing more than 55,000 leaders from more than 110 countries to explore plastic innovations, applications and collaborations. Milliken joins industry leaders for the five-day expo to explore novel and sustainable pathways for plastics, enabled in part by the company’s comprehensive polymer additive portfolio on display at booth 22071, South Hall.

Braskem will utilize such feedstocks for the manufacture of bio-attributed and bio-circular polypropylene enabling more sustainable options for growing consumer demand in the packaging, film, automotive, and consumer goods markets.

RPM’s last cash dividend increase of 10% in October 2023 marked RPM’s 50th consecutive year of increased cash dividends paid to its stockholders, which places RPM in an elite category of less than half of 1 percent of all publicly traded U.S. companies. Only 41 other U.S. companies, besides RPM, have consecutively paid an increasing annual dividend for a longer period of time, according to Dividend Radar. During this timeframe, the company has returned approximately $3.4 billion in cash dividends to its stockholders.

The Airolution tube is constructed with advanced materials that provide unmatched durability. Its unique composition not only reduces the risk of punctures but also ensures that the tube retains air pressure for extended periods. This durability is especially beneficial for riders who frequently encounter rough terrain or debris on their rides.

Double Coin and CMA has unveiled two new tires for airport ground support equipment (GSE) applications.

These GSE tires advance Double Coin’s commitment to delivering high-performance solutions for the aviation industry. Each tire’s key features allow maximum endurance in the GSE environment.

According to the study, India consumes more rubber than it produces. The country consumed 1,238,000 tons of natural rubber in 2021/22, an increase from 1,096,410 tons consumed in 2020/21, and 1,350,000 tons in 2022/23.

India has been importing natural rubber from various countries to meet the market demand. India imported 528,677 tons of natural rubber in 2023 alone. Statistics show that 546,369 tons in 2022, 410,478 tons in 2021 and 457,223 tons of natural rubber were imported in 2020.

ACE Laboratories has announced another new testing capability. This latest addition provides the ability to test and analyze windshield wiper blades and wipe systems.
The custom engineered testing system allows ACE to include energy consumption analysis as part of the testing protocol in addition to traditional durability analysis. ACE’s testing system also allows for customization to nearly all windshield types with angle and pressure controls to ensure testing is completed according to OEM specifications.

Liaoning Black Cat Composite New Material Technology Co., Ltd., held a groundbreaking ceremony on March 28 for its 160,000 metric tons per year rubber masterbatch production project. Local government leaders, Black Cat Group leaders and academician Liqun Zhang and her team from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) attended the ceremony.

Orion S.A. on Tuesday broke ground on a plant in Texas that will be the only facility in the U.S. producing acetylene-based conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries and other applications vital for the global shift to electrification.
The site in the city of La Porte, southeast of Houston, will create many high-skilled jobs – both in construction and technical fields – and bring innovative technology to the American economy. The battery additives produced by Orion’s plant will be super clean, with only one-tenth of the carbon footprint of other commonly used materials.

RDAbbott will supply Dow liquid silicone rubber (LSR) to four liquid injection molding (LIM) cells at NPE 2024, the plastics industry’s largest event. Two of these cells will also use pigments from NovationSi, RDAbbott’s manufacturing subsidiary. RDAbbott, an authorized distributor of Dow silicones in Mexico and the United States, provides top-notch technical service and support to supplier partners like Dow and collaborates with manufacturers of injection molding machines (IMMs), molds, and dosing systems.

Continental and Brabus have successfully subjected the new MaxContact MC7 sports tire to an exceptional endurance test. On the legendary supercar Brabus 750 Bodo Buschmann Edition “1 of 25”, the tire, which was specially developed for the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), showed what it is capable of in terms of maximum control and steering precision with a torque of up to 900 Nm. The test took place on the Contidrom circuit, the tire manufacturer’s legendary test track near Hanover. The tires fitted were size 275/35R21 on the front axle and 315/30R21 on the rear axle. The Brabus 750 special edition runs on SportContact 7 tires as original equipment. The premium tire manufacturer and the high-end tuner Brabus have been in a close partnership for more than a decade.

Karin Kingstad has joined Lianda as its Business Development Manager. The Lianda team is very excited to have Karin as a key player in its corporate growth strategy. Karin is a rubber industry veteran with successful careers as Business Development Manager at Hexpol Compounding and Key Account Manager at Bayer/LANXESS.

Falken Tires, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. of Japan, has been named the #1 Original Equipment tire brand for Truck/Utility vehicle owners according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study.

Falken also ranked highest in Traction/Handling, further demonstrating its commitment to improving the driving experience for each and every customer.