Tokai Carbon reported for the first half of the current fiscal year a 4.2% year-on-year decline in net sales to 170.92 billion yen ($1.17 billion), a 61.2% drop in operating income to 8.43 billion yen, a 56.4% decline in ordinary income to 10.52 billion yen, and a 77.0% drop in net income to 3.66 billion yen. The carbon black business,...
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Mitsubishi Chemical Eyes Making Recycled Carbon Black From Used Tires
Mitsubishi Chemical has begun studying the chemical recycling of used tires in the coke ovens at its Kagawa Plant in Sakaide City, aiming to sell several thousand tons of carbon black per year in fiscal 2025 and several tens of thousands of tons per year in fiscal 2030, both of which are recyclable resources. As the tire industry accelerates its...

Interview With Bando Chemical President Tomio Ueno
Bando Chemical is pursuing its medium-term business plan under the three guiding principles of Value Creation, Smart Manufacturing Creation, and Evolution of Organizational Capabilities for the Future. With co-creation as its keyword, the company is working to create new value and steadily achieving results in the fields of electronic materials, medical equipment, and healthcare equipment. Japan Rubber Weekly sat down...
Zeon Files Lawsuit Against Arlanxeo for Battery Material Patent Infringement
Zeon has filed a lawsuit in Germany against Arlanxeo, seeking an injunction and damages for infringement of Zeon’s German patent on lithium-ion battery materials and an injunction against the manufacture and sale of such products in Germany. The lawsuit seeks an injunction and damages for the manufacture and sale in Germany of Arlanxeo products, which the company believes are manufactured...
Toyoda Iron Works Launches Sheet-shaped Cushioning Material
Toyoda Iron Works has succeeded in developing Toyototsu, a sheet-shaped cushioning material that has already been widely used in automobile armrests, consoles, instrument panels, and other parts. The company has recently succeeded in extrusion molding, instead of the conventional injection molding process, using the proprietary technology of Osaka-based Katsuron, and has begun developing applications not only for automobiles but also...
Japan’s Rubber Unions Secure Average Pay Raises of 14,508 Yen, 1.62M Bonus in Labor Offensive
Gomu Rengo, the Japanese Rubber Workers Union Confederation, has announced the results of its spring 2024 labor offensive. According to the report, 51 of the 52 member unions reached wage agreements and all 52 unions reached lump-sum pay agreements. The average wage increase among the 47 unions with definite wage amounts was 14,508 yen ($100), or 4.85% of the previous...