Industrial rubber products manufacturer Inoac has launched in October 2022 a new grade of silicone foam rubber sponge, which is being marketed as Gomspor TT-4106. TT-4106 is a press-molded product, making it suitable for indoor and outdoor applications that require heat and cold resistance and higher mechanical strength in areas such as waterproofing, elongation, and compression set. The features of...
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Joint Project Including Tosoh Plants Fast-Growing Trees in Shunan, Yamaguchi
The city of Shunan in Japan’s Yamaguchi prefecture has joined forces with Idemitsu Kosan, Tosoh, Tokuyama and Marubeni to plant a range of fast-growing tree species in Mukaidake, part of Shunan’s Heta district. This comes as part of a broader effort to trial the renewable production of woody biomass in the area, and follows an afforestation agreement that was reached...
Sumitomo Rubber President Yamamoto Reviews 2022, Maps out Initiatives and Policies for 2023
Sumitomo Rubber President Satoru Yamamoto recently looked back on the year 2022 and discussed the company’s EV tires and sensing core business initiatives. Looking Back at 2022 Yamamoto said that with regard to the economic environment, the outlook remained uncertain due to the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the situation in Ukraine, as well as further inflationary pressures....
Bridgestone Installs Solar Panels at Thai Plant to Power Tire Production
Thai Bridgestone (TBSC), the main Thai subsidiary of Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone, has installed solar panels on the roof of its Nong Khae plant in Saraburi, Thailand. The move marks the Bridgestone Group’s largest rooftop solar installation anywhere in the world to date. The new setup has a total capacity of 9.95 megawatt peak (MWp), and will be used to...
New Year’s Interview: JRMA Chairman Takashi Shimizu on Japan’s Rubber Industry in 2023
Japan Rubber Weekly recently sat down for a New Year’s interview with Takashi Shimizu, president of Toyo Tires, who took office as chairman of the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA) in May 2022. With regard to the JRMA, a nationwide, all-product association of the rubber products manufacturing industry with more than 90 members ranging from large companies to small and...
Demand for Zeon’s Specialty Synthetic Rubbers Strong in First Half
Synthetic rubber manufacturer Zeon in the elastomer materials business reported sales of 111.41 billion yen ($839.56 million), up 12.7 percent year-on-year, and operating profit of 9.33 billion yen, down 13.9 percent in the first half (April-September) of the fiscal year ending March 2023. Sales volume of synthetic rubber remained steady. Commodity synthetic rubber volumes were firm due to high tire...

