Author: RubberWorld

With ENGEL’s new fiscal year starting April 2024, their sales structure and internal processes have been modified to align with customers’ needs. ENGEL has defined three major regions across the globe: the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Vanessa Malena will lead the Americas.

The new sales structure aims to provide enhanced support to representatives by enabling direct access to business development teams in their respective regions.

Arkema records robust EBITDA for first-quarter 2024, in line with its full-year guidance, in a broadly unchanged economic environment with sales of €2.3 billion, down by 7.3% year-on-year: Slight volume growth in the 3 Specialty Materials segments (+2.7%); Good momentum in certain markets such as structural bonding, sports, automotive and energy; Negative 8.4% price effect in Specialty Materials, mainly reflecting lower raw material prices and still unfavorable market conditions in upstream acrylics and PVD.

Fornnax unveiled the SR-200 HD Dual-Shaft Primary Shredder, a revolutionary product. The renowned India Rubber Expo (IRE) at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai will showcase this cutting-edge technology on March 20, 2024. The SR-200 HD represents a major advancement in recycling technology, showcasing Fornnax’s commitment to engineering innovation and environmental responsibility.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that year-on-year comparison showed that the production of natural rubber decreased by 0.8 percent from 27,188 tons in March of 2023.

According to the DOSM, total stocks of natural rubber in March fell 3.3 percent to 222,455 tons as compared to 229,940 tons in February.

Bostik announced that production at the Schwepnitz location will be gradually relocated and the branch will be closed by the end of 2025.

This measure continues the strategy of concentrating technological focuses at individual production locations. The shift primarily affects the PU foam and sealant portfolio for the bonding, sealing and filling segment. In the future, silicones will be produced in Borgholzhausen (Germany) and Oosterhout (Netherlands) and PU assembly foams in Buftea (Romania).

Arkema has agreed to acquire Dow’s flexible packaging laminating adhesives business, one of the leading producers of adhesives for the flexible packaging market, generating annual sales of around US$250 million. The proposed acquisition will significantly expand Arkema’s portfolio of solutions for flexible packaging, enabling the Group to become a key player in this attractive market.

Dow’s flexible packaging laminating adhesives business offers a broad range of high-quality solutions in food and medical applications, where flexible packaging is the optimal solution in terms of efficiency, as well as for industrial lamination (window films, photovoltaic backsheets, etc.).

Optical silicones provide long-term stability, material flexibility, and proven processing performance. Due to their high-temperature properties, luminous flux, and resistance to weathering, these advanced silicone rubber materials are well-suited for a variety of LED lighting applications.
By understanding the material performance needs in these and other lighting applications, Dow continues to expand its portfolio of moldable optical silicones and is developing innovative technologies, such as clear extrudable silicone rubber.

Franklin Miller unveiled the TASKMASTER® TM3000, a heavy-duty industrial shredder engineered for unparalleled performance and reliability. Designed with a low speed, high torque configuration, the TM3000 is equipped to handle a vast array of shredding applications, boasting large throat openings and extra heavy-duty construction. Its innovative design ensures effective operation with minimal noise, sparking, dust, or heat rise.

Bridgestone is launching the Duravis Van Winter ENLITEN to support van users and light truck fleets through daily winter operating conditions while helping to reduce the total cost of ownership. The Bridgestone Duravis Van Winter boasts the longest mileage compared to other premium winter alternatives – as proven by TÜV SÜD – to help reduce vehicle downtime, costs, and improve resource efficiency. This is alongside a 13 percent rolling resistance reduction from its predecessor3, increasing fuel/energy efficiency to further reduce the total cost of ownership and environmental impact.