Amid Limelight on China, Japanese Rubber Industry Quietly Continues Expansion Into Europe

The period since the 1960s has seen a spurt of overseas expansion from Japanese companies involved in the rubber industry. This expansion has followed through from moving into Korea and Southeast Asia, centering on Taiwan, in the 1970s to North America in the 1980s and, since 2000, through into China and the ASEAN region. Recently, momentum has been gaining also...

Please subscribe to read the full story.

[lwa template="modal" register="0"]Subscribe

Continue Reading

Bando Chemical Celebrates 110th Anniversary, Broadcasts Ceremony to Sites Worldwide

Mitsutaka Yoshii, president of Kobe-based Bando Chemical Industries Ltd. (TYO:5195), presided over a ceremony on April 14 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the business’s foundation, where he and around 200 people including executives, managers and other employees were in attendance for the special occasion. The ceremony was broadcast live to 23 locations in nine countries. Yoshii kicked off the...

Please subscribe to read the full story.

[lwa template="modal" register="0"]Subscribe

Continue Reading

JATMA Introduces New Associate Membership System

The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association (JATMA) has revamped its membership system, introducing a new associate membership system as of April 1, 2016. On the same date, two companies — Nihon Michelin Tire Co. Ltd. and Nippon Goodyear Ltd. — were registered as associate members. The establishment of this new membership system reflects the fact that tires are a global...

Please subscribe to read the full story.

[lwa template="modal" register="0"]Subscribe

Continue Reading

Bridgestone’s Kumamoto Plant Ceases Operations, Conducts Safety Checks After Powerful Quake

A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck at 9.26 p.m. Japan Standard Time on April 14, with its epicenter near the city of Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. At Bridgestone Corp.’s (TYO:5108) Kumamoto Plant in Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture, the earthquake was recorded on the Japan Meteorological Agency’s seismic intensity scale as 6-lower, and the plant ceased operations immediately after the earthquake struck....

Please subscribe to read the full story.

[lwa template="modal" register="0"]Subscribe

Continue Reading

Update on Yokohama Rubber’s Tire Business in China – Special Interview

Amidst an economic slowdown in the Chinese market, tire sales for Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5101) have risen by double digits over the previous year. The chief secretariat and director of the company’s business planning division, Hiroaki Shioiri, recently discussed business conditions surrounding passenger car tires in China – as well as the outlook moving forward. Showing Double-digit Growth China’s...

Please subscribe to read the full story.

[lwa template="modal" register="0"]Subscribe

Continue Reading

Katsura Roller’s E-Core Earns Governmental Eco-friendly Award

Katsura Roller Mfg. Co. Ltd.’s winding roller, e-Core, has earned the award of “Gold Ecotech,” which is given to Osaka-developed products that are judged as being advanced environmental technology. The e-Core is a product that provides new features to the roller core, which is necessary for rolling plastic film, sheets and metal foil for industrial, printing and packing purposes. By...

Please subscribe to read the full story.

[lwa template="modal" register="0"]Subscribe

Continue Reading