Raw Materials
Specialists chemicals firm Biesterfeld Group has established Performance Rubber GmbH, which commenced operations on 1 July 2016. The new division combines all international business activities of the rubber processing industry. The aim is to further develop the rubber business strategically, while strengthening the Group’s role as a leading European distributor in this industrial segment.
New data produced by Smithers Rapra suggests the carbon black market has grown at an average of 5.4 per cent during the period between 2011 and 2015. As a results demand reached 13 million tons in 2015. To put this figure into context, global demand for carbon black was estimated at 10.7 million tons in 2011 – and this figure is said to represent “a good recovery” from the 15 per cent contraction between 2008 and 2009.
Omsk Carbon USA LLC has appointed Piotr Pawlicki as its new manager. According to the company, Pawlicki’s main responsibility will be increasing sales in conjunction and improving customer service for Omsk Carbon Group customers in the North America. The office functions also include overseeing logistics, accounting and HR management.
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. is participating in the Sustainable Natural Rubber Initiative (SNR-i), an effort put forward by the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) to ensure the sustainability of natural rubber as a resource.
Tyre cord manufacturer Kordsa Global has been recognized as a “great place to work” in Bahia, Brazil, the company announced. According to a survey conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute that included nearly 40 companies, Kordsa Global ranked 7th in the list of best employers.
On 23 May, US-based Orion Engineered Carbons released three new products that it says create more fuel efficient tyres. The new tyres come in response to consumer demand and legal standards for vehicle fuel economy. As far as the US federal version of these rules are concerned, these grades offer reduction in rolling resistance via narrow particle size distributions and lower sidewall hysteresis; and lower air permeation through the inner liner for better tyre inflation consistency.
On 3 June Orion Engineered Carbons S.A., the carbon black manufacturer, said the management of its company in France (Orion Engineered Carbons SAS) had begun consultations with the Works Council at its Ambes, France facility in order to implement a restructuring and “down staffing” with “a potential cessation of production at the site by the end of 2016”. The French Orion plant employs approximately 40 people.
On 2 June, US carbon black manufacturer Cabot said it will open a research centre in Shanghai to develop “clean technologies and specialty chemicals”.
Lintech International LLC has reported that it has been appointed as a non-exclusive distributor for Solvay Silica in the US, covering markets including the manufactured rubber goods (MRG) market.
Tomasz Celka is the new managing director of Omsk Carbon Europe GmbH (OCE) effective immediately.
Celka has more than 15 years of chemical industry experience. He was previously responsible for the development of Omsk Carbon Group in Eastern Europe. His new priorities include: implementing the OCE development strategy and coordinating sales and distribution in the European market.
Construction of Omsk Carbon Group’s third production site – a carbon black plant in Mogilev, Belarus – is underway, according to the company.
Omsk Carbon Mogilev’s production facilities are being constructed in a Belarusian Free Economic Zone. Production is expected to begin in July/August 2016. The plant is expected to reach full capacity in 2019.
Russian carbon black manufacturer, Omsk Carbon Group is to open a facility in South Carolina with a view to supplying the likes of Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin and Mitas, which all have factories there. South Carolina firm Reger Holdings LLC’s estate agent (Colliers International) announced that it has leased a 117,865 square foot space in Bishopville, […]
Interview Giulio Cesareo, founder and CEO of Directa Plus It may have been discovered in by scientists at the University of Manchester, but graphene is entering the tyre business via Italy after well-known bicycle tyre manufacturer Vittoria SpA launched a tyre produced using the Nobel Prize-winning material in conjunction with another Italian firm, Directa Plus. […]
Cimcorp, a manufacturer of robotic gantry-based order fulfilment and tyre-handling solutions, has broadened its Dream Factory solution to include the handling of raw materials and compounds. According to the company, the new product includes an optimized layout design that utilizes 50 per cent less floor space than conventional solutions, can be integrated with specialized software systems and generates cost savings of up to 50 per cent in materials handling capital investment by simplifying the material flow.
On 22 October, Pirelli, Rosneft and Synthos signed a further Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the next phase of their synthetic rubber cooperation. The MoU refers to the approval of the results of an initial feasibility study begun in April regarding the development of a synthetic rubber plant construction project in Nakhodka. The document was signed during the Fourth Eurasian Forum in Verona by Rosneft chairman of the management board Igor Sechin, Pirelli executive vice chairman and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera, and Synthos majority stakeholder Michal Solowow.
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