Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) has managed to accurately decipher the complex genome sequence of guayule, an alternative to natural rubber. This comes as part of a joint research project between the tire manufacturer and NRGene Ltd., a company focused on genomic big data solutions. Bridgestone has been working since 2017 to diversify its natural rubber resources, looking here at getting more...
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) has received a letter of gratitude from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), thanking the company for working over the past year to boost its raw material production for medical gowns, masks and so on. With COVID-19 starting to spread widely around the world last spring, there was a shortage of medical gowns. And...
Nichirin Co. Ltd. (TYO:5184) President Ryuichi Maeda has revealed that as part of its European restructuring efforts, the automotive hose manufacturer intends to start up hose assembly operations in the central Bulgarian town of Karlovo this March. This assembly will be contracted out to a local manufacturer. Then if automaker approval can be obtained, the company intends to move half...
Ikuji Ikeda, president of the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA) and Chairman of Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110), gave his thoughts recently on the state of Japan’s rubber industry and what opportunities lie ahead for domestic players. While companies have had to change as a result of the pandemic, Ikeda noted, this has then made it possible to turn difficult...
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. (TYO:7282) recently announced that it has invested in Ball Wave Inc., a Tohoku University startup company engaged in the development and sale of chemical sensors. By using surface acoustic waves (SAWs) – a physical phenomenon discovered by Tohoku University researchers – Ball Wave is working to commercialize what are called ball SAW sensors. Such sensors are...
The Japan Rubber Hose Manufacturers Association recently released a forecast of Japan’s rubber hose demand for 2021. According to the figures here, domestic rubber hose production for the year is slated to come to 32,340 tons, up 11.9 percent year-on-year. But while this represents a significant increase, it does not quite get the sector back to where it was before...
