Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bridgestone Corp., spoke with the Japan Rubber Weekly about the ongoing restructuring of the company’s development and manufacturing center in Tokyo’s Kodaira district. After the Kurume plant, the Tokyo plant has the second longest history of any of Bridgestone’s plants, and along with its Yokohama chemical and industrial products base, also...
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. recently celebrated the opening of Mitsui Chemicals (Shanghai) Functional Composites Co. Ltd. (MFS), a company dealing in the production and sale of functional compounds in Shanghai’s Jinshan District. MFS aims to tap into demand in China’s growing automobile and packaging markets. In March, the factory started production and sales of Milastomer, a thermoplastic elastomer used in automotive window...
Yoshinori Abe, acting chairman of the Tohoku Industrial Rubber Products Wholesale Trade Association and president of Seiwa Shoji, recently spoke to Japan Rubber Weekly about the economic conditions of the Tohoku region. Dividing the Tohoku region into East and West, an economic disparity has arisen between the three prefectures of Aomori, Akita, and Yamagata on the Sea of Japan side, to...
Light resin conveyor belt manufacturer Forbo Siegling Japan Ltd., headquartered in Switzerland, reported that Japan sales of its belt division in the first half (January to June) were nearly flat compared with the prior year. In January to May, overall business was slow. Some regions had few new business prospects, with Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya struggling. But demand began to recover...
The logistics industry, the main source of demand for truck and bus radial tires (TBRs), now faces a range of challenges to reduce costs and environmental impact. Among others these include rising fuel prices and the need to procure new vehicles to comply with emissions restrictions. One solution recently promoted by tire manufacturers is to offer tire sets that include both new and...
Bridgestone Corp. has announced the recent development of the X3R Series, its seismic isolation rubber for low-rise buildings. The company has already developed a super-large seismic isolation rubber for ultra-high-rise buildings, and sells a full assortment of types, including seismic isolation rubber for low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise, and ultra-high rise. In earthquake-prone Japan, the company’s products help mitigate earthquake damage. The...
