Sumitomo Rubber has been working to unravel the mechanisms behind the biosynthesis of natural rubber. The company’s efforts here come as part of a push to improve the yield of the Para rubber tree, which would in turn facilitate a steady supply of natural rubber and improvements to tire performance. Natural rubber is an essential raw material in tires, where...
Materials
Asahi Kasei to Raise BR and SBR Prices for Shipments From October
Asahi Kasei announced on September 22 that it will raise the price of polybutadiene rubber (BR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR, oil and non-oil) by 30 yen ($0.21) or more per kilogram for shipments from October 1. The company said that the recent sharp rise in crude oil prices and the rapid depreciation of the yen have caused the costs of...
Tokai Carbon Set to Relocate Thai Subsidiary to New Plant
Tokai Carbon announced on Sept. 5 that it intends to build a new plant under consolidated subsidiary Thai Tokai Carbon Product (TCP), located in Sriracha, Thailand. The announcement follows the plan’s approval at a special board meeting earlier that day. First established in 1989, TCP handles the manufacture and sale of carbon black, which is used as a reinforcing material...
Ube to Raise Price of Polyamide 6
Ube will raise the price of polyamide 6 resin by 80 yen ($0.56) per kilogram for shipments beginning September 15. The move is due to soaring prices of raw materials. The company said that this is the first price revision for this product since April 2022, and is intended to improve business profitability by passing on higher prices for main...
Tosoh to Raise Prices of Sodium Hypochlorite
Tosoh will raise the price of sodium hypochlorite by more than 10 yen ($0.07) for shipments from September 11. The products subject to the price increase and the price increase range are 10 yen or more per kilogram for lorry shipments and 20 yen or more per kilogram for Tosoh Cube. The move comes as utility costs and other costs...
Ube Posts Year-on-Year Drop to Sales Revenue, Butadiene Rubber Profits
Butadiene rubber (BR) manufacturer Ube has posted its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The company’s sales revenue came to 116.18 billion yen ($871.79 million), down 20.6 percent from the same quarter last year; operating profit was 4.36 billion yen, down 51.1 percent; ordinary profit was 2.3 billion yen, down 74.3 percent; and net profit was 5.74 billion...

