Denka expects global demand for chloroprene rubber (CR) to keep up growth of several percent per year going forward. And as part of this, dry CR products are focused on the shift toward electric vehicles (EVs), with an understanding that this will see some products rise while others fall. Elsewhere, belts and other such industrial applications are expected to maintain...
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Denka Says Demand for Chloroprene Rubber to Remain High in FY2022
Denka’s chloroprene rubber (CR) business saw full production and sales in fiscal 2021. Demand inquiries remained strong, and sales for automotive, industrial, and adhesive applications were all favorable. Although Denka Performance Elastomer, the company’s U.S. base, was forced to suspend production in September and October as a raw material supplier sustained damages by a hurricane, it started up in November...
Sumitomo Rubber Succeeds in Experiment to Improve Natural Rubber
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, in collaboration with partners including Tohoku University, Kanazawa University and Saitama University, has succeeded in an experiment leading to the improvement of natural rubber varieties. The experiment identified the section of a natural rubber synthesizing enzyme that is important for controlling the chain length of natural rubber. By incorporating the section into an enzyme derived from tomatoes,...
Kuraray to Raise Prices for Elastomer Products
Kuraray said that it will be raising prices on its hydrogenated styrenic elastomers Septon, Hybrar, and TU-Polymer. Set to come into effect on July 15, the global price hike will see prices here rise by $0.33 per kilogram. The rising costs, including main raw materials, utilities, and logistics costs related to the products in question, have exceeded the scope of...
Eneos Materials Acquires ISCC Plus Certification in Hungary
Eneos MOL Synthetic Rubber (EMSR), a JV between Eneos Materials and MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas, has acquired ISCC Plus certification as of this April. Acquiring this certification has allowed EMSR to create a setup for sustainable solution-polymerized styrene–butadiene rubber (S-SBR). The setup here takes sustainable butadiene and styrene, allocates it through a mass balance method based on the certification...
Report: Impact of the Shanghai Lockdown on Japanese Rubber Industry
The lockdown implemented in Shanghai, China’s largest economic city, had a significant impact on the lives of citizens and supply chains. The impact on the supply chain was particularly large, and the future situation is uncertain. Although the number of infected people has been decreasing due to the Chinese government’s Zero Corona Policy, some are concerned that the lockdown may...
