ERJ: Rubber Players of the Week

1.    UK REACH: Now up to six years to register

Top slot this week goes to the Chemical Industries Association for getting the UK government to see some sense over the impact of its Brexit policies on industry. Such recognition could also be extended to many other trade associations, such as the ETRMA, WDK, VDMA, Cefic and BIR, dealing with often logic-defying policy-making by regulators across Europe.   Read more

2    Conti doubles annual savings target to over €1bn by 2023

Degenhart grasps the nettle with expanded restructuring plan, which will now impact about 30k jobs worldwide, including 13k in Germany.   Read more

3. Michelin takes over as world’s largest tire company

Has been a long time coming, 11 years in fact, but the French group has finally wrestled top slot from Bridgestone.   Read more

4    SaarGummi, Tokai Kogyo seal technical link-up

When the going gets tough the tough form alliances, such as this co-operation intended to ‘create technical synergies and enhance global market presence.’   Read more

5    Enviro buoyed by demand for ‘bio-oil’ from scrap tires 
Market trend could “strongly increase” revenues from Swedish company’s pyrolysis plants.  Read more
(See also Martin von Wolfersdorff’s analysis of this topic in ERJ May/June issue).

6    Engel’s amazing ‘shrinking’ LSR moulding machine
'Less is more' might well be a slogan for the Austrian machine maker, which  will be shown making precision ophthalmology parts weighing just 0.0013g.    Read more

7     Goodyear maintains military business amid Trump troubles
Despite all the hot-air, the US department of defense confirms that the Akron tire maker is still a suppler.   Read more

8    BASF inks deal to use pyrolysis oil from waste tires
Tire recycling has a new best friend as ELT firm joins BASF project for chemically reprocessing post-consumer polymer waste.   Read more

9    Update: Maxam Tire unveils new solid tire factory
Award for best-kept secret:  Location of facility for “advanced manufacturing” of solid OTR, construction and material-handling tires.   Read more

10    China's Cenway upgrades butyl rubber facility in Panjin
Details are sketchy, but this potentially significant expansion project at acquired unit is also said to have cut production costs by 40%.   Read more

11    NEDO backs Tosoh cellulose-nanofibre rubber project
A serious play encompassing the challenging fields of nanomaterials and sustainability: this ‘low-cost manufacturing’ project was submitted as a joint proposal with Bando.   Read more