Sumitomo Rubber Industries, in collaboration with partners including Tohoku University, Kanazawa University and Saitama University, has succeeded in an experiment leading to the improvement of natural rubber varieties. The experiment identified the section of a natural rubber synthesizing enzyme that is important for controlling the chain length of natural rubber. By incorporating the section into an enzyme derived from tomatoes,...
natural rubber
Sumitomo Rubber, Academic Researchers Use Tomato Enzymes to Shine Light on Natural Rubber Synthesis
New findings from a collaborative research project involving Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) could lead to an improved supply of natural rubber. Working in collaboration here with Tohoku University, Kanazawa University and the Riken SPring-8 Center, Sumitomo Rubber has managed to elucidate the structure and modify the functionality of cis-prenyltransferase NDPS1, a tomato-derived enzyme with a structure similar to that...
Osaka Exchange Adds Three New TSR20 Futures Plants
Osaka Exchange Inc. (OSE) designated three new factories on May 27 as approved sites for TSR20 rubber futures. The addition of these approved factories comes in aim of improving liquidity in the TSR market. Following the move, there are now a total of 24 factories approved as TSR20 sites, with all of these located in Thailand. The three factories added...
Continental to Expand Project for Natural Rubber Sustainability
Continental AG is looking to bolster sustainability in its natural rubber supply chain. The company recently reached an agreement with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to significantly expand an ongoing project here, which looks to ensure full traceability for the company’s natural rubber supply chain in West Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the...
Osaka Exchange, Thailand Futures Exchange Establish New Futures Market for Japanese Natural Rubber
Osaka Exchange Inc. (OSE) and Thai Futures Exchange PCL (TFEX) have come to an agreement regarding a new futures market for Japanese natural rubber. Based on this agreement, TFEX launched a market named Japanese Rubber Futures on Nov. 30, with this being a cash-settled natural rubber futures market based on the final settlement price of OSE’s own Natural Ribbed Smoke...
Sumitomo Rubber Sets up New Singaporean Subsidiary to Procure Natural Rubber
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) recently announced that it has established a natural rubber procurement subsidiary in Singapore in an effort to secure a stable supply of high-quality natural rubber. Named Sumitomo Rubber Singapore Pte. Ltd., this new company is set to begin operations in April. Sumitomo Rubber has so far procured natural rubber through a specialized division of Singaporean...