Sumitomo Riko Co. Ltd. (TYO:5191) recently held a ceremony in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, to mark the establishment of subsidiary SumiRiko Yamagata Co. Ltd., which will serve to manufacture and market automotive anti-vibration rubber. The ceremony was attended by Vice Governor of Yamagata Prefecture Tomoyuki Hosoya, Yonezawa City Mayor Masaru Nakagawa, Toyota Motor East Japan Inc. President Takeshi Shirane, Sumitomo Electric...
Materials
JSR Subsidiary to Launch Carbon Masterbatch Company in Mexico
Elastomix Co. Ltd., a consolidated subsidiary of major synthetic rubber manufacturer JSR Corp. (TYO:4185), has announced plans to establish a new company in Mexico for carbon masterbatch (CMB) manufacturing. Commercial production is slated to begin in 2018. Mexico is a major exporter to the North American automotive market. Elastomix aims to expand by establishing a manufacturing hub in the region...
JPCA Publishes Japanese Petrochemical Industry Almanac 2016
The Japan Petrochemical Industry Association (JPCA) recently published the 2016 edition of its almanac “State of the Petrochemical Industry.” Published almost every year since 1961, the publication provides data about the Japanese petrochemical industry and the composition of the industry’s upstream supply chain. The almanac features an overview of the petrochemical industry, industry-related statistics, production capacity of main petrochemical products...
Tokai Carbon at Full Production Capacity in Thailand, Pondering Overseas Expansion
Speaking recently on overseas operations, Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd. (TYO:5301) President Hajime Nagasaka said that production at the company’s subsidary Thai Tokai Carbon Product Co. Ltd. is currently operating at full capacity. The path to this, Nagasaka said, was not by getting into unreasonable price competition – it was by customers who had been using low-price goods from China and...
Tokai Carbon Starts Process Toward Structural Reform
Structural reforms to Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd.’s (TYO:5301) carbon black business are going exactly as planned, President Hajime Nagasaka said recently when speaking on the progress of the company’s T-2018 mid-term management plan. In order to undertake an overhaul of Tokai Carbon’s business foundations, the company is using T-2018 to structurally reform its carbon black, fine carbon and electrode businesses....
Japan’s Natural Rubber Import Volume Hits Fifth Straight Month of Decline in July
Japan’s import volume of natural rubber for July 2016 decreased by 1.2 percent year-on-year, with import value plunging 24.3 percent, according to statistics gathered by the Rubber Trade Association of Japan. It represents the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year decline for import volume, and the 10th such consecutive month for import value. The average import price plummeted by 23.4 percent...