Trinseo to commercialise Nd-BR production in 2016

Horgen, Switzerland – Trinseo is set to commercialise its neodymium butadiene rubber (Nd-BR) offering in 2016, a spokeswoman has told ERJ.

The company announced in April 2014 that it planned to convert its nickel butadiene rubber (Ni-BR) production train in Schkopau, Germany to manufacture Nd-BR.

The conversion is in response to increasing global demand for Nd-BR in green tires and ultra-high performance tires, said Trinseo, which also supplies solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) for these applications.

Nd-BR is said to improve the wear, fatigue and groove-cracking resistance of tires and to increase rebound resilience. The material’s lower heat build-up under dynamic stress can also increase energy efficiency by reducing rolling resistance.

Separately, Trinseo global business director for the synthetic rubber business unit Francesca Reverberi confrimed to ERJ that the Schkopau plant had undergone a turnaround oepration.

“We had a major turnaround in our synthetic rubber production plant in Schkopau, Germany involving multiple trains. All turnaround activities have been accomplished to target. All trains are back to operation,” she said.

According to Trinseo, the turnaround “was a regular maintenance activity” to maintain quality for customer needs.

The company announced earlier in August that its synthetic rubber revenue in the second quarter dropped by 30 percent to $115 million compared to the same period last year, due to the pass-through of lower raw material costs as well as currency factors.

Also, its adjusted earnings (EBITDA) of $18 million was $19 million below last year, driven by the turnaround as well as currency and some margin reduction.