Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) has announced that it will set up new production facilities for Milastomer, a thermoplastic olefin (TPO) elastomer, at its U.S. production base Advanced Composites Inc. in Ohio. The move will take an investment of approximately 1.5 billion yen ($14.24 million), and will establish facilities with an annual production capacity of 6,000 tons. Construction is slated to...
Major industrial rubber manufacturer and marketer Kuriyama Holdings Corp. (TYO:3355) is getting strong business performance out of its operations across Asia and North America. Sales for fiscal 2017 have been going steady in Asia for Kuriyama’s urea SCR sensors and module tanks, which comply with emission regulations in the region on construction and agricultural machinery. In China, the company has...
Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205) has established a new local distributor for high-performance materials in California’s Silicon Valley. The company, Zeon Specialty Materials Inc. (ZSM), moved into its offices in October and will begin operating in January. The new entity will take over North American sales operations from fellow Zeon Group company Zeon Chemicals LP, which is based in Kentucky. More specifically,...
Japanese-based Matsuda Seisakusho Co. Ltd. and German-based Klockner Desma Elastomertechnik GmbH (Desma), both major manufacturers of injection molding machines for rubber, recently announced that they have formed a business alliance. From this spring, the companies will use their alliance to establish a system for joint product development, sales and after-sales services. These services will be offered mainly to Japanese manufacturers...
Bridgestone Americas Inc. (BSAM), the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108), announced on Sept. 15 that it will sell all shares of its wholly owned subsidiary Speedco Inc. to U.S.-based Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc. The sale price was not disclosed. Speedco provides automotive lube, maintenance and other services to the trucking industry, and owns 52 stores in...
Nishikawa Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5161), a large manufacturer of rubber parts for the automotive industry, inaugurated Yoshitomo Fukuoka as its new CEO three months ago. Unlike most in the automotive parts industry, Fukuoka’s prior work has been based around shipbuilding, and his switch between these highly divergent industries has drawn attention over recent months. Japan Rubber Weekly recently sat down...
