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...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) Global CEO Shuichi Ishibashi recently announced the company’s new vision for sustainable business. And by spending 2021 on making this vision a reality, he explained, Bridgestone hopes to achieve SDGs and help bring about a more sustainable society. For Bridgestone, 2021 will be a year of getting up to full speed with efforts to carry out the...
Bando Chemical Industries Ltd. (TYO:5195) subsidiary BL Autotec Ltd. has launched the FlexR-25 as a new product under its BL Quick-Change series of tool changers. The FlexR-25 can be used for a wide range of applications, including the assembly, deburring, grinding, machine tool handling and cleaning processes. Making use of the ball-lock-based attachment and detachment mechanism inherent to the broader...
Speaking to the press recently in an online press conference, Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5101) President Masataka Yamaishi reflected on 2020 and also discussed both the outlook for 2021 and the direction of the company’s new upcoming medium-term business plan. Under this plan, Yamaishi said, Yokohama Rubber’s 2023 sales will certainly exceed its 2019 sales, and the company will work...
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4063) has developed a first-of-its-kind low-density moldable silicone for producing lighter rubber molded parts with the company’s Liquid Injection Molding System (LIMS). The conventional method of making silicone rubber more lightweight has been to add a blowing agent to millable silicone rubber to shape it into a sponge, but Shin-Etsu Chemical’s new product does away with...
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...
