Yokohama Rubber Delivers EV Tires for Leapmotor SUV Feb. 20, 2025. - Yokohama Rubber has begun deliveries of Advan Sport EV tires for new vehicle installation (OE) on the Leapmotor C16, the new SUV launched in China in June 2024 by Chinese EV manufacturer Leapmotor. The tire sizes are 245/45R21 104V XL for the front and 255/45R21 106V XL for the rear. Based on the company’s Advan Sport V107 tire for high-performance […]
Yokohama Rubber to Supply Sustainable Racing Tires to All-Japan Super Formula Feb. 20, 2025. - Continuing from last season, Yokohama Rubber will supply Advan racing tires made from renewable and recycled materials to the All-Japan Super Formula Championship as control tires in 2025. This season’s tires will further increase the ratio of recycled and recyclable materials to approximately 46%, and will be supplied from the official test held on February 18-19. As part of its […]
Sumitomo Rubber and Mitsubishi Chemical to Collaborate on Carbon Black Recycling Feb. 10, 2025. - Sumitomo Rubber and Mitsubishi Chemical will start collaboration on resource recycling of carbon black, one of the main raw materials for tires. Under this collaboration, Sumitomo Rubber will supply Mitsubishi Chemical with recycled materials, including rubber fragments generated in the tire manufacturing process as well as crushed and processed products from used tires. Mitsubishi Chemical will feed the recycled materials […]
Bridgestone to Build Pilot Plant for Precision Pyrolysis of Used Tires Feb. 7, 2025. - Bridgestone has decided to construct a pilot plant for precision pyrolysis of used tires on the premises of its Seki Plant in Gifu Prefecture, with the aim of implementing horizontal tire recycling in society. The plant will have a maximum processing capacity of 7,500 tons of used tires per year. It will establish and optimize a precision pyrolysis process and […]
Yokohama Rubber Delivers EV Tires for Leapmotor SUV Feb. 20, 2025. - Yokohama Rubber has begun deliveries of Advan Sport EV tires for new vehicle installation (OE) on the Leapmotor C16, the new SUV launched in China in June 2024 by Chinese EV manufacturer Leapmotor. The tire sizes are 245/45R21 104V XL for the front and 255/45R21 106V XL for the rear. Based on the company’s Advan Sport V107 tire for high-performance […]
Yokohama Rubber to Supply Sustainable Racing Tires to All-Japan Super Formula Feb. 20, 2025. - Continuing from last season, Yokohama Rubber will supply Advan racing tires made from renewable and recycled materials to the All-Japan Super Formula Championship as control tires in 2025. This season’s tires will further increase the ratio of recycled and recyclable materials to approximately 46%, and will be supplied from the official test held on February 18-19. As part of its […]
Bridgestone Soft Robotics Ventures Debuts Moving Soft Robotics Using Tetote Feb. 14, 2025. - Soft Robotics Ventures, an in-house venture of Bridgestone Corporation, exhibited at RoboDex the “Tetote” soft robotic hand and the “Tetote and” hybrid hand with a suction pad. RoboDex is an exhibition held within the Factory Innovation Week 2025 at Tokyo Big Sight. Tetote is a soft robotic hand that uses Bridgestone’s rubber actuators. Using four “fingers” made of rubber actuators, […]
Contitech Reorganizes Japanese Business Divisions Feb. 5, 2025. - Contitech in Japan has on January 1 reorganized its business divisions into the Automotive and Industrial divisions. The Automotive division has been taken over by Contitech Japan K.K., while the Industrial division has been renamed as Contitech Industrial Solutions Japan K.K. Contitech Industrial Solutions Japan will be engaged in the manufacture of conveyor belts (steel belts, canvas belts, aramid belts, […]
Denka Launches Snecton Low Dielectric Organic Insulating Resin Feb. 17, 2025. - Denka has launched Snecton, a low-dielectric organic insulating resin with electrical characteristics required of materials to reduce electrical signal loss in next-generation high-speed communications beyond 5G and 6G. In addition to the sales launch for copper clad laminates (CCL) of various high-speed telecommunications equipment, the product is now being considered for flexible copper clad laminates (FCCL) and various interlayer insulation […]
Kuraray to End Production of Kurarity Acrylic Block Copolymer Feb. 17, 2025. - Kuraray will discontinue production and sales of the acrylic block copolymer Kurarity at the end of June 2026. Since its commercialization in 2012, the business environment has remained severe. The company has determined that it will be difficult to secure earnings that will allow it to continue its business in the future and to continue stable production.
Interview: Hideki Ogawa, President of Nishikawa Rubber Jan. 27, 2025. - Japan Rubber Weekly recently sat down for an interview with Hideki Ogawa, president of Nishikawa Rubber, to discuss the year ahead. “In 2025, we will continue to take on any challenge with elastic ideas,” Ogawa said. Also actively promoting the use of AI and automation, the company is on track to develop new products and technologies that are expected to […]
Interview: Toyohiro Hagiwara, Vice President, Gates Unitta Asia Jan. 24, 2025. - Japan Rubber Weekly sat down for an interview with Toyohiro Hagiwara, vice president of Gates Unitta Asia (GUA), to talk about business and the year ahead. “In the automotive field, we will expand the use of our products in commercial vehicles and respond to new types of mobility, such as EVs and electric motorcycles. In general industrial applications, we see […]
Yokohama Rubber Begins Testing AI Tech to Determine Air Pressure Feb. 13, 2025. - Yokohama Rubber has developed a technology that uses AI to determine the air pressure status of truck and bus tires based on the sound of the tires hitting the ground, and has begun demonstration tests. In daily inspections of air pressure in truck and bus tires, hammering inspections are still the mainstream method because measuring air pressure with air pressure […]
Katecs Develops System to Visualize Excavation Grounds Jan. 30, 2025. - Nagoya-based rubber products trading company Katecs, together with Nishimatsu Construction and Geo Machine Engineering, has developed GroutViz, a system for 3D visualization of the state of the ground to be excavated. The system will be used to utilize data from chemical injection performed in the construction of mountain tunnel, making it possible to visualize the quality of tunnel cross-sections in […]
Nitta Posts Financial Results, Sees Opportunity in Semiconductor-related Business May. 24, 2024. - Nitta announced net sales of 88.61 billion yen ($565.29 million), up 0.7% year-on-year; operating income of 4.42 billion yen, down 11.4%; ordinary income of 12,01 billion yen, down 6.9%; and net income of 9.68 billion yen, down 9.2%, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. “Sales were decent, but profits fell sharply due to a slower-than-expected decline in the […]
Special Report: Signs of Recovery in Demand for Rubber Sheets Apr. 26, 2024. - Signs of recovery have emerged in demand for fluorine rubber sheets, which had been in a slump. With the elimination of the oversupply of semiconductors, there has been movement in the production of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which had been undergoing production adjustments, and this has led to an upturn in current demand. Demand for silicone rubber sheets is also increasing […]
