Bridgestone has signed an agreement to transfer its group company, Mexico Carbon Manufacturing (MXCB) — a manufacturer and seller of carbon black — to Cabot Corporation. The move is part of Bridgestone’s ongoing initiatives to accelerate the establishment of a foundation for “growth with quality.” In its premium tire business, the company is pursuing enhanced productivity and creativity across the...
Materials
Zeon Reports Higher Profit in Elastomer Materials Business: First Quarter Results
Zeon announced its financial results for the first quarter (April–June 2025) of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. The company recorded sales of 103.08 billion yen ($701.14 million), a 2.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. Despite the decline in revenue, operating profit rose significantly by 34.2% to 12.13 billion yen. Ordinary profit stood at 11.97 billion...
Operating Profit Up on Lower Revenue in First Quarter: Sumitomo Riko
Sumitomo Riko released its financial results for the first quarter (April–June 2025) of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. The company recorded sales of 154.78 billion yen ($1.05 billion), a 1.8% decline compared to the same period last year. However, operating profit rose by 14.5% to 9.71 billion yen, while net profit declined slightly by 2.7% to 5.76 billion...
Sumitomo Rubber Introduces Circular Carbon Black in Racing Tires
Sumitomo Rubber has announced the adoption of circular carbon black in some of its racing tires, marking a significant step in the company’s circular economy initiative known as Towanowa. This marks the company’s first application of resource-circulated carbon black in tire production. The new racing tires were used in the GT300 class of the 2025 Autobacs Super GT Round 4...
Zeon Develops Hydrophilic Polymer for Winter Tires
Zeon has developed Nipol BR1300, a hydrophilic polymer for winter tires, and began commercial production in May at its Tokuyama Plant in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Developed with a polybutadiene rubber backbone, this polymer enhances the affinity of tire rubber materials with water to an unprecedented level....
Rubber Sheet Special Feature: Irumagawa Rubber Boosts Sales Efficiency to Secure New Projects
Irumagawa Rubber’s rubber sheet business for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, recorded lower revenue and profit compared to the previous year. “Specialty fluororubber sheets and products for specific users remained weak. While general-purpose rubber sheets performed relatively steadily, they couldn’t offset the declines, resulting in overall performance below last year’s levels,” the company said. Demand trends showed that...