Japan’s largest manufacturer of synthetic rubber, JSR Corp. (TYO:4185), is doing well with its solution styrene butadiene rubber (S–SBR) for fuel-efficient tires. The company has increased sales of S–SBR for eco tires by just short of 120 percent over that of the previous term. Such sales expansion has been a point of focus for the company, coming amid a dip...
Amid weak movement in rubber overall, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp.’s (TYO:3407) solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (S–SBR) business has found relatively robust performance in its specialty area of high-performance products. The company has felt some impact with a portion of its product lines due to the economic downturn in China, a large consumption market. However, demand in Asia on the whole has...
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) is continuing to make inroads on the solution styrene butadiene rubber (S–SBR) market in Europe. For European winter tires, the company has developed a new grade of S–SBR that improves cold resistance while also providing grip performance and fuel efficiency. Capable of maintaining its pliability in cold-weather regions, the new grade of S–SBR is currently...
JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) announced its financial results for the first three quarters of the fiscal year ending March 2016 (April–December 2015). Net sales were down 4 percent to 294.5 billion yen ($2.52 billion), operating income down 3 percent to 29.5 billion yen and net income down 14 percent to 19.8 billion yen.
New Year’s Top Interview: JSR President Mitsunobu Koshiba President Mitsunobu Koshiba of JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) said recently in an interview with the Japan Rubber Weekly that his company’s future does not lie in an extension of the pattern its success has followed up to now. He instead stressed the crucial nature of nonlinear thinking. Koshiba said that an all-out effort...
Hiroyuki Hirakawa, director and senior corporate officer, head of Elastomers and Chemicals Business Headquarters, and division manager–Synthetic Rubber of Zeon Corp. (TYO:4205), commented on the recent state of Zeon Chemicals Singapore Pte. Ltd. He said that the company’s production facilities will be in full operation while addressing the necessary mechanical and equipment issues until the plant is fully ramped up. Hirakawa...
