Nitta Corp. (TYO:5186) launched sales on Aug. 1 for the NittaOmega Type XM, an automatic tool changer. In recent years, automakers have shown an increasing need for robots able to transport heavy objects. Improvements to robotic capabilities have meanwhile allowed for faster robotic movement, causing the market to seek out lighter, thinner products to serve as automatic tool changers here....
Japan Rubber Weekly recently sent a survey regarding current economic conditions to 156 domestic manufacturers of rubber and plastic products. Responses were received from 102 of these companies, helping to quantify expectations for the industry’s economic outlook. In an earlier survey conducted this January, the major concern was sluggish performance in demand industries on account of the U.S.–China trade war,...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) recently published its 2019–2020 Sustainability Report, making this available via a dedicated page on its company website. The report includes Milestone 2030, which lays out a set of new medium-term environmental targets for the Bridgestone Group to achieve by 2030. This comes as part of the broader effort to achieve long-term environmental goals for 2050. As a...
Chemical products and condom manufacturer Okamoto Industries Inc. (TYO:5122) recently posted results for the April–June quarter of fiscal 2020. Net sales here were down year-on-year 14.6 percent, dropping to 19.365 billion yen ($183.47 million); operating income was down 15 percent, dropping to 1.923 billion yen; ordinary income fell 5 percent to 2.416 billion yen; and net profit dropped 10.4 percent,...
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) has disclosed its business results estimates for the first half along with its forecast for the full business year through December. The forecast through end of June anticipates first-half sales revenue of 340 billion yen ($3.22 billion), down 20.8 percent from the first half of the previous year; business losses of 2.5 billion yen compared...
Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) recently announced that it will be increasing its synthetic rubber prices starting with shipments made on Aug. 17. This will see prices here rise by 11–22 yen per kilogram ($0.10–$0.21). The price hike will apply to products manufactured at Zeon’s domestic Japanese facilities, and will differ between general rubber and specialist rubber products. This will be Zeon’s...
