The production volume of synthetic rubber for March was 102,196 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 11.7 percent, according to data compiled by the Synthetic Rubber Industry Association of Japan. This fall-off was consistent across all product types, as SBR production volume was at 23,800 tons, a 25.3 percent decrease; and BR was at 21,791 tons, an 11.2 percent decrease. There...
Amid weak movement in rubber overall, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp.’s (TYO:3407) solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (S–SBR) business has found relatively robust performance in its specialty area of high-performance products. The company has felt some impact with a portion of its product lines due to the economic downturn in China, a large consumption market. However, demand in Asia on the whole has...
Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205), a major manufacturer of specialty synthetic rubber, has reported that net sales for the company’s elastomer materials business declined by 5 percent year on year to 178.9 billion yen ($1.61 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2016. Meanwhile, operating profit for the segment climbed 23 percent to 20.7 billion yen. Sales volume for synthetic rubber rose...
President of chemical manufacturer Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042), Toshinori Yamamoto, has announced the company’s mid-term business plans through to the end of the 2017 fiscal year. It is the first time in 30 years that the company has made such a public announcement concerning its mid-term business plans. With the mid-term plan, Tosoh has a business policy of promoting safety reforms;...
JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) affiliate Elastomix (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thailand’s largest domestic rubber manufacturer and refiner, is increasing capacity at its Thai production facilities. Although domestic demand in Thailand is in an overall downtrend similar to that of China, the firm is managing to consistently attract new orders and other business. In addition, PT. Elastomix Indonesia has been running its domestic...
Elastomix Co. Ltd., the largest manufacturer and refiner of rubber in Japan and majority-owned by JSR Corp. (TYO:4185), predicts there will be few reasons for demand in Japan to increase in the future. As such, the company plans to aggressively cater to demand overseas through its subsidiaries in China, Thailand and Indonesia. Elastomix’s subsidiary in Foshan, China, added a Banbury...
