Light-duty resin conveyor belts are trending well at present in terms of both production and shipment, due to robust sales in Japan’s food industry. Offering the largest demand among all sectors for such belts, the food industry provides stability now and prospectively moving forward in this regard. As such, it is drawing the attention of belt manufacturers across the board,...
Okamoto Industries Inc. (TYO:5122) has announced the launch dates for two new condom products: the Okamoto 0.02 Real Fit, on Oct. 3, and the Okamoto 0.01 L Size, on Nov. 11. Since the Okamoto 0.02 series of water-based polyurethane condoms hit store shelves in 2009, the company has developed a product lineup with varied sizes, colors, shapes and other features....
The National Museum of Western Art (NMWA), Tokyo, has been named a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site at a session of the World Heritage Committee on July 17, 2016, in Istanbul, Turkey. The building uses seismic isolation rubber bearings supplied by Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108). Bridgestone’s seismic isolation bearings consist of thin rubber layers and steel plates alternately laminated together. In...
This May marked the 20th anniversary of the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association’s ISO/TC 45 Domestic Technical Committee, which oversees the setting of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards for rubber and rubber products. The committee has done considerable work behind-the-scenes, including approving and revising ISO and JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) standards that apply to the rubber industry and representing Japan...
The Society of Rubber Science and Technology Japan (SRIJ) will hold a rubber technology symposium to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Banbury Mixer, a kneader that is fundamental to the rubber manufacturing industry. The symposium, on the theme of “How rubber kneading has changed with the advent of the Banbury Mixer,” will be held Sept. 1–2 at the Tokyo...
Nishikawa Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5161) announced on July 20 that it has agreed to plead guilty and pay $130 million in fines for infringement of U.S. antitrust law through the company’s sales of automotive sealing parts. Nishikawa Rubber had fully cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice in its investigation into the company’s automobile sealing products, and has decided to...
