Japanese production and shipments of rubber goods for 2016 continued in what has been a trend of decline in recent years. According to figures released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the shipment value of rubber goods for last year decreased for a second consecutive year, falling 4.6 percent to drop to 2.1737 trillion yen ($19.13 billion)....
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Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) said that Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) has adopted liquid farnesene rubber (LFR) as a performance enhancing additive in the production of its latest winter tire, the Winter Maxx 02. This is the first time that LFR is used in car tires. LFR is a liquid rubber developed by Kuraray using farnesene, a new biologically derived...
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Shipment volume of carbon black for 2016 fell 3.4 percent year-on-year, dropping to 562,188 tons, according to records compiled by the Japanese Carbon Black Association. By category, shipments of carbon black for tire use were down 4.5 percent from the previous term, while that for general rubber declined by 2.0 percent. This resulted in a total shipment volume of carbon...
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Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) said that its U.S. subsidiary Firestone Building Products Co. LLC has reached a definitive agreement to buy Gaco Western Inc., a manufacturer of silicone roofing systems and provider of waterproofing and spray foam insulation solutions for a variety of commercial and residential applications, at an undisclosed price. The acquisition is aimed to strengthen Firestone’s position in commercial...
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Denka Co. Ltd. (TYO:4061) and Hokuriku Electric Power Co. will build a new hydroelectric power plant in Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture, through their 50:50 joint venture Kurobegawa Denryoku. Construction of the facility has been under consideration since August 2014 and is slated to begin in 2018. Transmission is planned to start in April 2022. Denka will be entitled to a...
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As Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. (TYO:7282) moves forward with 2017, the company finds itself encompassed by an environment of accelerating change, says President Naoki Miyazaki. Continuing on from the first installment of a two-part exclusive interview with Japan Rubber Weekly, Miyazaki discussed what such changes mean for the company and how it plans to proceed. For Miyazaki, the nature of...
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