Fujikura Rubber to Acquire Land for New Plant in China Aug. 17, 2017. - Fujikura Rubber Ltd. (TYO:5121) reached the decision on Aug. 10 to acquire land for constructing a new factory in Zhejiang Province, China. To be used for consolidated subsidiary Anji Fujikura Rubber Ltd. The project will cost an estimated 132 million yen ($1.2 million). Anji Fujikura Rubber constructed and began operating its second plant in December 2016. Since the Chinese market’s […]
Bando Chemical Strengthens Existing Initiatives as First Part of Business Plan Draws to a Close Aug. 16, 2017. - Bando Chemical Industries Ltd. (TYO:5195) has been working to bolster existing businesses while creating new ones as part of Breakthroughs for the Future, the company’s medium- to long-term business plan. The plan was embarked upon in fiscal 2013, and its first stage – or “BF-1” – concludes this year. According to Bando Chemical’s president, Mitsutaka Yoshii, the company has made […]Sumitomo Rubber to Establish New Company, Manufacturing Facility in Slovenia Aug. 7, 2017. - Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) recently announced that it will establish a new company and manufacturing facility in Slovenia. Serving to accelerate the global development of Sumitomo Rubber’s business in precision rubber parts for medical applications, the new company will be established as a subsidiary of Swiss-based Lonstroff AG with a total investment of 34 million euros ($40.03 million). Sumitomo […]
Increase in Demand for Chloroprene Rubber Tightens Global Supply–Demand Balance Aug. 3, 2017. - Supply and demand for chloroprene rubber (CR) is tightening worldwide. According to a Japanese domestic CR manufacturer, inquiries from overseas are flourishing to the point where domestic CR manufacturers cannot handle all of them. For product shipping, Japanese domestic CR manufacturers give preferential treatment to existing, mainly Japanese, customers and strive to maintain a steady supply of CR. The global […]
Bridgestone to Expand Indian Plant Production With $300M Investment Aug. 10, 2017. - Bridgestone Corp.’s (TYO:5108) group company in India, Bridgestone India Pvt. Ltd., has announced that it will shore up production capacity at its Pune and Indore plants for passenger car radial tires. Bridgestone India will invest $304.3 million in a phased manner over the next five years. The investment is expected to increase the combined daily production capacity of the two […]
Bridgestone to Bring Back SF-325 Tire for Mazda’s MX-5 Miata Restoration Program Aug. 7, 2017. - Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) is gearing up for the Japanese relaunch of its SF-325 tire in January 2018 for Mazda Motor Corp.’s (TYO:7261) first-generation MX-5 Miata restoration program. The SF-325 is an OEM tire for the first-generation MX-5 Miata, which was launched in 1989. Although Bridgestone stopped manufacturing the tire in 2003, the company has brought it back as part of […]
Fujikura Rubber to Acquire Land for New Plant in China Aug. 17, 2017. - Fujikura Rubber Ltd. (TYO:5121) reached the decision on Aug. 10 to acquire land for constructing a new factory in Zhejiang Province, China. To be used for consolidated subsidiary Anji Fujikura Rubber Ltd. The project will cost an estimated 132 million yen ($1.2 million). Anji Fujikura Rubber constructed and began operating its second plant in December 2016. Since the Chinese market’s […]
Bando Chemical Strengthens Existing Initiatives as First Part of Business Plan Draws to a Close Aug. 16, 2017. - Bando Chemical Industries Ltd. (TYO:5195) has been working to bolster existing businesses while creating new ones as part of Breakthroughs for the Future, the company’s medium- to long-term business plan. The plan was embarked upon in fiscal 2013, and its first stage – or “BF-1” – concludes this year. According to Bando Chemical’s president, Mitsutaka Yoshii, the company has made […]Mitsufuku Industry’s Compound Business for Specialty Rubber Shows Strong Profit Growth Aug. 9, 2017. - Carbon masterbatch (CMB) manufacturer Mitsufuku Industry Co. Ltd. has seen its profit grow steadily, despite unchanging sales. Mitsufuku Industry’s fluororubber business has shown a solid performance on the back of annually growing demand for fluororubber triggered by downsizing of engines and other trends. The company is focusing on launching its fourth factory in Fukushima Prefecture to finalize compounds for olefin-based […]
Nippon Valqua Industries’ Q1 Sales and Profit Rise on High-Tech Sector’s Robust Demand Aug. 9, 2017. - Sealing material manufacturer Nippon Valqua Industries Ltd. (TYO:7995) has reported that sales rose 13.4 percent year-on-year to 11.77 billion yen ($106.7 million) and operating profit surged 74 percent to 1.51 billion yen for the first quarter ended June 30, 2017 of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. Ordinary profit was 1.54 billion yen, up 113.1 percent, and net income […]
Tokyo Zairyo Focuses on Bolstering US Operations Under New Management Plan Jul. 25, 2017. - Tokyo Zairyo Co. Ltd., a raw material trading company and a subsidiary of Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205), achieved record profits for the seventh year in a row in the fiscal year ending March 2017. Now starting this fiscal term, the company has implemented a new medium-term management plan. Sitting down recently with Japan Rubber Weekly, President Shuichi Kakinuma said that the […]
SRIJ Chairman Takata: Japan Needs Open Innovation Lab for Rubber Technology Jul. 13, 2017. - Toshikazu Takata, Tokyo Institute of Technology professor and new chairman of the Society of Rubber Science and Technology Japan (SRIJ) for fiscal 2017–18, recently spoke of his aspirations to establish an open innovation center in the form of a general laboratory for rubber technology. Takata said that the world recognizes the Japanese rubber industry’s world-class technology, such as tires and […]
Mizuno and Sumitomo Riko Co-Develop Advanced Table Tennis Rubber Aug. 2, 2017. - Sports goods manufacturer Mizuno Corp. (TYO: 8022) has co-developed Q3, a new table tennis rubber, with Sumitomo Riko Co. Ltd. (TYO: 5191). The product will be sold starting Oct. 7 at Mizuno stores across Japan that handle table tennis goods. The two companies aim to sell 24,000 units globally in the first year. Q3 targets advanced players with a high speed […]
New Zeon Thermal Interface Material Sheets Offer Hope for Semiconductor Heat Issues Jul. 28, 2017. - An advanced thermal interface material (TIM) sheet developed by Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) holds promise in helping to create an energy-efficient, smart, low-carbon economy. This potential stems from TIM’s ability to significantly reduce the temperature of semiconductors used in servers and power devices, where heat generation is a growing technical issue. Great advances in the processing power of semiconductor chips in […]Japan’s Carbon Black Shipments in June Fall for First Time in Six Months Aug. 8, 2017. - Shipment volume of carbon black in June dropped 5.5 percent year-on-year to 46,709 tons, reversing five straight months of gain, according to data compiled by the Japanese Carbon Black Association. Among shipments to be used for rubber, those for tires fell 4.5 percent as well as those for general purpose rubber by 5.2 percent. The total shipments for rubber decreased […]
Japan Makes Fifth Straight Monthly Gain in Carbon Black Shipments Jul. 20, 2017. - Figures compiled by the Carbon Black Association show that 43,271 tons of carbon black were shipped in Japan for the month of May. This marks a 0.2 percent year-on-year increase and the fifth consecutive monthly increase. With regard to carbon black for use in rubber, shipments rose 1.4 percent for general rubber, but fell 1.1 percent for tires, which account […]
