Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s Vector 4Seasons all-season tire has obtained official technical approval from Peugeot for use on the automotive manufacturer’s 2008 Cross City, a compact SUV that has been available at certified Peugeot dealers in Japan since March 7, 2016. Developed in Europe, the all-season tire boasts exceptional snow traction that allows vehicles to run on highways in...
Japan’s largest condom manufacturer, Okamoto Industries Inc. (TYO:5122), enjoyed strong sales and profit growth for the financial year ending March 2016. Condom sales increased significantly due to the launching of new lines, overseas market expansion and active demand from overseas visitors to Japan. The company’s gross sales were 88.38 billion yen ($810.26 million) for a 9.3 percent increase over the...
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) is continuing to make inroads on the solution styrene butadiene rubber (S–SBR) market in Europe. For European winter tires, the company has developed a new grade of S–SBR that improves cold resistance while also providing grip performance and fuel efficiency. Capable of maintaining its pliability in cold-weather regions, the new grade of S–SBR is currently...
Data compiled by the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association shows that automobile tire and tube production volume in March totaled 89,547 tons. The 6.8-percent drop compared to the prior year marked the sixteenth straight year-on-year decline. The falloffs in year-on-year volume by product type were 14.6 percent for trucks and buses, 11.9 percent for small trucks and 4.6 percent for...
According to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), Japanese automotive manufacturers produced a total of 889,501 vehicles in March. This represents a 1.2 percent increase from the previous March, the first such year-on-year increase in four months. By automobile type, 757,605 passenger vehicles were produced, up 2.3 percent from the previous March, also a first year-on-year increase in four months....
According to data on individual company performance concerning industrial rubber products, from 2014 to 2015 Tokyo-based Bridgestone Diversified Products Japan Co. Ltd. posted net sales of approximately 85.3 billion yen ($780.92 million), the highest in Japan. The company was formed on January 1, 2015, when Bridgestone Diversified Products East Co. Ltd. and Bridgestone Diversified Products West Co. Ltd. merged to...
