Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042) has announced plans to expand production capacity of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) at local affiliate Philippine Resins Industries Inc. (PRII). Tosoh will be investing approximating 4.2 billion yen ($37.05 million) to take annual production capacity from its current level of 100,000 tons up to 210,000 tons. Construction is slated to start in February this year and conclude in...
Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) needs to quickly find and master new solution styrene butadiene rubber (S-SBR) technology in order to develop a distinctive position, says President Kimiaki Tanaka. Sitting down recently for an interview, Tanaka said that with Zeon and Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) having agreed to merge their S-SBR operations under a new joint venture, we will see a...
JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) has, for the first time since its founding, restructured its business according to applications, said President Mitsunobu Koshiba during a recent talk with Japan Rubber Weekly. In addition to other steps, this included the establishment of a Tire Materials Department in June 2016. With its history of starting synthetic rubber production as a statutory company, he said...
Carbon black shipments totalled 50,624 tons in October, down 1.3 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by the Japanese Carbon Black Association. This marked the 11th consecutive month below last year’s shipments. Shipments of carbon black used for rubber totaled 47,456 tons, down 1.4 percent year-on-year. Apart from the shift to negative growth for tires with a 1.1 percent decline...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO: 5108) announced on Dec. 13 that it has successfully synthesized a next-generation polyisoprene rubber (IR). The material features a narrowly controlled molecular structure and uses the company’s proprietary new gadolinium (Gd) polymerization catalyst. The new catalyst enables industrial applications for which conventional Gd catalysts have so far been unsuitable. Although IR is the synthetic rubber most closely...
Carbon masterbatch manufacturer Zeon Polymix Inc., a group company of Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205), plans to position its main factory in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, as a mother factory that provides support to its other bases, said President Toshiaki Saya in an interview with Japan Rubber Weekly. Saya, who took over the helm on June 20, said that the Otsu factory will...
