ZS Elastomers Co. Ltd. (ZSE), a solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) joint venture between Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) and Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005), will commence operations on April 3. ZSE has obtained approvals from the relevant authorities in Japan and overseas and will take over the sales and R&D functions of Zeon and Sumitomo Chemical’s S-SBR businesses. The company will also...
Member unions of the Japan Rubber Workers Union Confederation (JRWUC) have submitted their wage demands at the group’s annual spring labor offensive, directing most of their efforts toward large rubber companies. Demands have been made by 52 out of a total 58 JRWUC member unions, with a total of 42 unions demanding higher monthly wages. While monthly wage demands from...
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) and Saudi Aramco have been moving forward somewhat more slowly than anticipated with the ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) plant under their joint Petro Rabigh project. But now the plant, scaled at 75,000 tons in annual production, looks to achieve mechanical completion sometime around April–June this year. Once there are finished products on hand, plans...
Demand is bouncing back for high-pressure hoses used in construction machinery and machine tools, coming against a backdrop of increased demand for construction machinery. According to machinery order statistics released by the Cabinet Office of Japan, orders have been up for five consecutive months, running back to August 2016. The other major source of demand, machine tools, remains in contrastingly...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) said that its U.S. subsidiary Firestone Building Products Co. LLC has reached a definitive agreement to buy Gaco Western Inc., a manufacturer of silicone roofing systems and provider of waterproofing and spray foam insulation solutions for a variety of commercial and residential applications, at an undisclosed price. The acquisition is aimed to strengthen Firestone’s position in commercial...
Denka Co. Ltd. (TYO:4061) and Hokuriku Electric Power Co. will build a new hydroelectric power plant in Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture, through their 50:50 joint venture Kurobegawa Denryoku. Construction of the facility has been under consideration since August 2014 and is slated to begin in 2018. Transmission is planned to start in April 2022. Denka will be entitled to a...
