Nichirin Co. Ltd. (TYO:5184) President Ryuichi Maeda has revealed that as part of its European restructuring efforts, the automotive hose manufacturer intends to start up hose assembly operations in the central Bulgarian town of Karlovo this March. This assembly will be contracted out to a local manufacturer. Then if automaker approval can be obtained, the company intends to move half...
Ikuji Ikeda, president of the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA) and Chairman of Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110), gave his thoughts recently on the state of Japan’s rubber industry and what opportunities lie ahead for domestic players. While companies have had to change as a result of the pandemic, Ikeda noted, this has then made it possible to turn difficult...
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. (TYO:7282) recently announced that it has invested in Ball Wave Inc., a Tohoku University startup company engaged in the development and sale of chemical sensors. By using surface acoustic waves (SAWs) – a physical phenomenon discovered by Tohoku University researchers – Ball Wave is working to commercialize what are called ball SAW sensors. Such sensors are...
The Japan Rubber Hose Manufacturers Association recently released a forecast of Japan’s rubber hose demand for 2021. According to the figures here, domestic rubber hose production for the year is slated to come to 32,340 tons, up 11.9 percent year-on-year. But while this represents a significant increase, it does not quite get the sector back to where it was before...
The Michelin Group recently announced that it has formed a partnership with Canadian startup company Pyrowave Inc. Through this partnership, Michelin will look to make a speedy entry into the market for plastic waste recycling technology. A total of more than 20 million euros ($24.53 million) is set to be invested into joint development here, with an industrial demonstrator slated...
Japanese demand for automotive tires is expected to improve year-on-year across all product categories next year, totaling 174.75 million tires. This would mark a 5 percent increase over demand levels seen in 2020, though a 9 percent decrease when compared to 2019. These figures come from a tire demand forecast put together by the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association (JATMA)....
