The rubber and vinyl glove industry, excluding medical application products, enjoyed a strong performance in 2015, with sales of ultra-thin gloves reaching 3 billion pairs, up 24 percent over 2014. Greater glove functionality and a higher awareness of sanitation contributed to the surge. Glove companies are focusing on developing and launching products with new value. To avoid getting caught up...
Using demand through March 2015 as a baseline, Sumitomo Riko Co. Ltd. (TYO:5191) is, on a consolidated basis, anticipating close to double-digit revenue growth for 2016 with its industrial hose business. Going forward, this will be backed by overseas markets. Sumitomo Riko already has production bases in China and India, and it is expanding also into other regions, with particular...
Despite forecasts indicating slow demand for construction machinery both in Japan and overseas and market conditions that have become more difficult since last year, Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108), which has introduced an in-house company system, is rolling out a plan to include its high-pressure hose business in its in-house global mining and agricultural machinery solutions company. Under this arrangement, the in-house...
Nitta Corporation of America (NCA), the U.S. manufacturing and sales subsidiary of Nitta Corp. (TYO:5186), has decided to construct a second plant to add more production facilities. In addition to fabricating light conveyor belts made from plastic, the second plant will add facilities for producing flat belts. NCA will invest around $7.6 million in the project, with construction commencing this...
President Yoichi Ohno of Ohno Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd., a maker of automobile rubber spare parts, recently unveiled a policy for actively developing new markets and new products in areas that the company has not been active in up till now. Proud of its 75-year history, the expansion into new areas including plastics products and engineering plastics as well as special...
Kureha Elastomer Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of office automation (OA) equipment and rubber spinning rollers, is developing ultra-thin high-performance rubber sheets with which it hopes to target new markets such as batteries and medical instrumentations. The ultra-thin high-precision sheets measure 0.05-0.02 mm in thickness with tolerances of ±10 percent, and can be produced from various kinds of synthetic rubber in...
