The period since the 1960s has seen a spurt of overseas expansion from Japanese companies involved in the rubber industry. This expansion has followed through from moving into Korea and Southeast Asia, centering on Taiwan, in the 1970s to North America in the 1980s and, since 2000, through into China and the ASEAN region. Recently, momentum has been gaining also...
Industry
Bando Chemical Celebrates 110th Anniversary, Broadcasts Ceremony to Sites Worldwide
Mitsutaka Yoshii, president of Kobe-based Bando Chemical Industries Ltd. (TYO:5195), presided over a ceremony on April 14 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the business’s foundation, where he and around 200 people including executives, managers and other employees were in attendance for the special occasion. The ceremony was broadcast live to 23 locations in nine countries. Yoshii kicked off the...
Bridgestone’s Kumamoto Plant Ceases Operations, Conducts Safety Checks After Powerful Quake
A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck at 9.26 p.m. Japan Standard Time on April 14, with its epicenter near the city of Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. At Bridgestone Corp.’s (TYO:5108) Kumamoto Plant in Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture, the earthquake was recorded on the Japan Meteorological Agency’s seismic intensity scale as 6-lower, and the plant ceased operations immediately after the earthquake struck....
Katsura Roller’s E-Core Earns Governmental Eco-friendly Award
Katsura Roller Mfg. Co. Ltd.’s winding roller, e-Core, has earned the award of “Gold Ecotech,” which is given to Osaka-developed products that are judged as being advanced environmental technology. The e-Core is a product that provides new features to the roller core, which is necessary for rolling plastic film, sheets and metal foil for industrial, printing and packing purposes. By...
China’s Rubber Sector Looks to Transform With Industry 4.0 – From Size to Strength (Part 2)
Chinese tire manufacturers, even the ones that make the best product, have experienced flat year-on-year growth for passenger vehicle tires, while year-on-year performance is down 30 percent for truck and bus tires. Even so, local tire makers say this situation is good for their companies. Things are said to be even worse for off-road (OR) tires for construction vehicles. This...
China’s Rubber Sector Looks to Transform With Industry 4.0 – From Size to Strength (Part 1)
China’s rubber industry is seeking to shift its focus from growing larger to being stronger. The new direction was unveiled at the China Rubber Conference 2016, organized by the China Rubber Industry Association, between March 22 and 25. China is aiming to strengthen its rubber industry due to declining demand, surging labor costs and dim prospects for a rapid recovery...
