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...
Fujikura Rubber Ltd. (TYO:5121) is expanding the second plant of its Vietnamese subsidiary, Fujikura Composites Haiphong Inc. The company intends to raise the production capacity at the subsidiary in anticipation of further increasing demand for industrial materials with the growth of ASEAN economies. It is envisioned spending $6.4 million on an expansion plan that will allow sales to increase by...
Shipment value of rubber goods in Japan declined in February by 4 percent year-on-year to 179.4 billion yen ($1.61 billion), sliding for the eighth consecutive month, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Production volume of automobile tires were 12.11 million tires, down 5 percent on-year, marking the 15th consecutive month of year-on-year decreases. Meanwhile, the value...
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) has announced that it will be the world’s first automobile manufacturer to employ biohydrin rubber in its engine and drive system hoses. These special rubber components must be highly resistant to oil and heat. Toyota will begin using biohydrin rubber in vacuum sensing hoses (used in engine intake systems) this May, with usage expected in all...
Marugo Rubber Industries Ltd., based in Kurashiki, Okayama, plans to establish a production base for automobile rubber parts in Thailand. It has also inked a technical assistance agreement with a rubber component manufacturer in the Philippines. Those moves are part of Marugo’s strategy to strengthen its production and supply capability in the growing ASEAN region. Marugo has established a sales...
Togawa Rubber Co. Ltd. will revise pricing for its natural rubber sheets from January 1, 2016. The lines that will be affected are the thicker versions of the general-purpose natural rubber sheets, for which current prices will increase by 15–20 percent. Although the cost of primary materials is relatively stable, manufacturing facilities differ with respect to the thickness of the rubber...
