Yokohama Rubber to exhibit at the IRC2026 AICHI Rubber & Elastomer Technical Exhibition
Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announces that it will participate in the IRC2026 AICHI Rubber & Elastomer Technical Exhibition to be held over four days at the Aichi Sky Expo (Aichi International Exhibition Center) in Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture, from November 3 to November 6. The technical exhibition will be held concurrently with the International Rubber Conference 2026 (IRC2026). This conference brings together the world’s scientists and engineers dealing with rubber and elastomers. The theme of this year’s exhibit is “Future Rubber Technology toward Sustainability.” Under the theme “Yokohama’s Technology Supporting a Sustainable Society,” Yokohama Rubber’s exhibit at IRC2026 will introduce the company’s technologies that, through their use in tires and industrial products, are contributing to the solution of social issues by reducing environmental impacts, improving safety and economic efficiency, and reducing labor.
The exhibit also will showcase several Yokohama Rubber tires, including the iceGUARD 8, a studless tire for passenger cars, and the new iceGUARD 8 SUV, a studless tire for SUVs that the company launched in September. The exhibit will introduce the technologies that enhance these tires’ performance on icy surfaces, including a special tire tread design and a compound that utilizes a naturally derived material called a AQUA BUSTER that provides superior absorbency. Other featured tires include ADVAN racing tires, which are made using renewable and recycled raw materials and are being supplied to the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship series, and a prototype BluEarth-GT AE51, which contains biomass-derived butadiene rubber. Yokohama Rubber also will introduce its research and development effort aimed at maintaining and improving tire performance while promoting the use of sustainable raw materials and reducing the use of petroleum as a raw material in synthetic rubber.
The industrial product section of Yokohama Rubber’s exhibit will feature its Smart Belt, a conveyor belt with embedded RFID tags. The exhibit will introduce Yokohama Rubber’s related maintenance support services aimed at improving equipment safety and reducing inspection- and maintenance-related labor by collecting and analyzing wear and temperature data and then proposing maintenance methods and belt specifications tailored to the conveyor belt’s usage conditions. The exhibit also will display cut samples that introduce the structure of the company’s automotive air-conditioning hoses using resin piping (liquid pipes) that reduce vehicle weight as well as the structure of its marine hoses, which support safe maritime transport of crude oil and petroleum products.
Under Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), the Company’s medium-term plan for fiscal years 2024–2026, Yokohama Rubber is implementing initiatives that integrate sustainability activities into its business strategies. Accordingly, the Company is accelerating business activities that will lead to sustainable enhancement of its corporate value while contributing to local communities and the resolution of social issues.