Sumitomo Riko Co. Ltd. (TYO:5191) announced on May 24 that it is switching to a new medium-term management plan, titled 2022 Sumitomo Riko Group Vision (2022V). With recent years seeing factors such as a major transformation in the automotive industry and the rise of protectionism in Western nations, the new plan comes as a fundamental shift to the approach outlined...
Products
Keeper Looks to Expand Sales of Self-Lubricating Rubber
Keeper Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of industrial rubber products including oil seals for cars, trains and ships, is focusing on increasing the sales of its Lub-Rubber line of self-lubricating rubber. Lub-Rubber possesses self-lubricating properties via the precipitation of a wax component. It is possible to make Lub-Rubber products based on ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, nitrile rubber (NBR), acrylic...
Nitta Unveils New Phase for Management Plan, Targets 100B Yen in Sales for 2020
Nitta Corp. (TYO:5186) President Motonobu Nitta has revealed Phase 3 of his company’s V2020 medium- to long-term management plan. Starting in fiscal 2018, Phase 3 is set to cover a three-year span ending in fiscal 2020. By this point, the plan aims to achieve annual sales of 100 billion yen ($913 million), up from 72.9 billion yen in fiscal 2017,...
Bando Chemical Sets Sights on Winning Top Share for Belt Business in Asia
Bando Chemical Industries Ltd. (TYO:5195), a manufacturer of automotive rubber components and belts, is focusing on Asia as part of its current medium- to long-term management plan, which it has been following since fiscal 2013. With one of this plan’s guidelines targeting the “evolution of global market strategy,” the company has set Asia as a high-priority region, and aims for...
Sealing Giant NOK Announces 47.9B Yen Investment to Increase Production
NOK Corp. (TYO:7240) President Kiyoshi Doi recently commented on the solid performance of his company’s seal business for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. Orders have been higher than expected, he said, leaving the company operating at full capacity – and so, he continued, NOK will make major investments this fiscal year to expand its facilities. Doi explained that...
Zeon to Improve Drying Capacity for Special Vulcanized HNBR
Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) is planning to enhance the drying capabilities of its Kawasaki Plant, where the company produces a special vulcanized hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) sold under its Zetpol brand. This improvement to the plant’s drying capacity will allow Zeon more flexibility in manufacturing both dry and latex versions of its special-grade Zetpol products, and will also boost production efficiency....