Raw Materials
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) reports progress in its joint work with professors from three universities to improve natural rubber yields and create new strains of rubber that will enhance tyre performance.
With the purchase of the 49 per cent shareholding that Barito Pacific Group had in Royal Lestari Utama (RLU), the joint venture pilot project to develop sustainable rubber tree plantations in Indonesia becomes a 100 per cent Michelin-owned affair. Moving forwards, Michelin views RLU as a “significant long-term opportunity to actively contribute to making the natural rubber sector more sustainable.”
On 14 June 2022 Hou Yugang, chairman of Zaozhuang Mining Group, went to Zhongxing Huitong Tire for research purposes. During his public speech, Hou Yugang affirmed that Zaozhuang Mining Group’s takeover of OTR tyre specialist Huitong had transitioned smoothly following the transfer of equity.
Klarius reports that it has been using its “extensive UK stock of exhaust systems, components and accessories to limit price rises to the aftermarket” up till now. However, the continuing rises in global energy costs are now being compounded by direct sanctions on trade with Russia, which is also pushing up raw materials costs for manufacturing industry.
In addition to gaining ISO 9001 certification, Pyrum Innovations has started test operation of a new pelletiser at its plant site in Dillingen, Germany. The pelletiser enables the recovered carbon black (rCB) obtained via the pyrolysis process to be bonded into pellets, which increases their transportability and facilitates the further processing of the raw material.
Birla Carbon has been awarded a Platinum level rating by EcoVadis for sustainability. This recognition confirms Birla Carbon’s position as an industry leader in advanced sustainability practices and reporting and places it in the top 1 per cent of companies rated by EcoVadis. The rating was provided after reviewing Birla Carbon’s sustainability practices in its recently published ninth sustainability report, Driving Circularity.
Carlton Forest reports that it has begun a cold testing phase at what it refers to as “the UK’s first continuous pyrolysis plant” located at the company’s Worksop site. That announcement, which was published on 13 May 2022, will be followed by “full operation launch” later in May.
Announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2022, tyre maker and automotive technology firm Continental states that it “performed well” during the period despite “an increasingly turbulent market environment.” It describes its Q1 2022 tyre business as “strong.”
Indian tyre maker MRF Limited has reported a standalone income of Rs 193.04 billion (£2.03 billion) for the financial year ending 31 March 2022, a 19.7 per cent increase on the previous year’s result. Exports were slightly up, being valued at Rs 17.79 billion (£186.80 million), compared with Rs 13.33 billion for the prior financial year. Standalone net profit, however, dropped 48.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6.47 billion (£67.94 million).
Under an expanded cooperation, end-of-life tyre (ELT) recycling equipment manufacturer Eldan Recycling A/S and pyrolysis technology developer Pyrum Innovations AG will include each other’s products in their complete recycling solutions. The Danish and German firms say they’ll distribute these solutions “actively”.
This week, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company achieved a further step towards its goal of fully replacing petroleum-derived oils by 2040. Selected products within the Goodyear Metro Miler range, a city transit tyre available to customers in North America, are now produced using a bio-based soybean oil compound that replaces a portion of the petroleum-based materials used.
With its acquisition of Trinseo’s rubber production plants in Schkopau, Germany late last year, Polish firm Synthos has also taken on the minority stake in Swiss start-up Tyre Recycling Solutions (TRS) that Trinseo held. It reports that its collaboration with TRS is now “progressing according to plan.”
Tyre recycling and product recovery specialists Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) is has noted “a sharp increase of interest in purchasing the carbon black and oil that Enviro recovers from end-of-life tyres” since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Interest has been observed “among old and new customers”, but the company has not commented on what this means in terms of specific orders.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine is now impacting Europe’s leading economies and specifically Germany. For those producing tyres, hoses, seals or health protection products, the situation is particularly series due to the duel effects of tight carbon black supplies and rising energy and specifically gas costs. “Carbon black is an indispensable material for production and so far more than a third comes from Russia,” explained Boris Engelhardt, general manager of the German Rubber Industry Association (WdK) in Frankfurt am Main, according to our sister publication reifenpresse.de.
During the first week of March, Wastefront announced it has entered a strategic partnership with electric vehicle tyre-focused tyre brand Enso. The deal will see Enso incorporate Wastefront’s recycled carbon black (rCB) in its tyres from 2024. Wastefront will also provide UK-based Enso with a recycling outlet for its used tyres, as part of its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
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