According to rubber production and shipment figures released by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the shipment value of rubber goods for January 2017 was 157.8 billion yen ($1.42 billion). The figure shows a year-on-year decrease of 1.4 percent and a negative turnaround following an increase in December 2016. The production volume of automotive tires was down...
Sumitomo Riko Co. Ltd. (TYO:5191) has released a new image as part of its latest promotional campaign. The image makes use of Japanese-language wordplay, employing a slogan that emphasizes the importance of technology in building a futuristic world. The slogan also conflates part of the company’s name with a term for intelligence. The body of the advertisement looks at the...
Ube Industries Ltd. (TYO:4208) will raise its prices of polyamide 6, polyamide 66 and polyamide 12 (Ubesta), starting with shipments on April 20. The scope of the price increase is 50 yen ($0.45) per kilogram for polyamide 6 and polyamide 66, while polyamide 12 will see a price hike of 100 yen. The increases come as Ube Industries aims to...
Nippon A&L Inc. has announced that it will increase the price of its synthetic latex rubber starting from April 1. Per dry kilogram, the company will increase the prices of its latex for paper processing by 50 yen ($0.45), general manufacturing latex by 55 yen, nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) latex by 65 yen and vinylpyridine (VP) latex by 75 yen. According...
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...
Hiroshima Kasei Ltd. held a ceremony on March 7 to celebrate the completion of an automobile sealant factory in Bandung, Indonesia. The 60 or so guests in attendance included company president Koichi Nishi and other top executives, along with customers and local government officials. The company established local subsidiary PT Hiroshima Kasei Indonesia in March 2016 in response to Japanese...
