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The German rubber industry is in a precarious position after four consecutive years of shrinking production and weakening demand, according to a new press release from the Wirtschaftsverband der deutschen Kautschukindustrie (WDK). The industry association’s latest data shows that both employment and production continued to decline in 2025, while firms increasingly consider relocating manufacturing abroad.

Following the retirement of long-standing Managing Director Colin Tirel, Steve Thomson took over the management of the British Arburg subsidiary in Warwick with effect from 1 December 2025. The highly experienced professional was Sales Manager for Arburg Ltd. since September 2024 and is committed to serving customers in the important markets of Great Britain and Ireland as Managing Director.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. announced two major milestones reflecting the company’s strong performance and confidence in its future growth strategy: record-high financial results for fiscal year 2025 and upward revisions to its financial targets for the final year of its three-year medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026).

Before joining ContiTech in 2015, Hill held management positions at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and later senior executive roles at Goodyear Engineered Products, which became Veyance Technologies and is now part of ContiTech. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from the University of Kentucky.

BKT appoints Henrik de Koning as Head OEM Europe & Key Account at BKT Europe. In this role, he will strengthen BKT’s strategic presence in the OE market and he will play a key role in taking customer relationships to the next level.

With effect from 1 January 2026, Ben Mechelmans is the new Managing Director for the Arburg subsidiary in Belgium. At 25 years of age, he represents a breath of fresh air, innovation and new perspectives, which he intends to bring to Arburg N.V., located in Molenstede. At the same time, he stands for continuity in terms of future priorities in the Belgian market.

The Rubber Division, ACS, upcoming trainings cover a variety of topics featured in their new March courses.

March 27 – Virtual Course: Developments in Tire Materials Science & Engineering. Instructor: Brendan Rodgers, Consultant.

May 20-22 – In-person Course: Advanced Rubber Compounding ~ In-person at Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, Barberton, OH. Instructors: Paul Merda and Nicki Hershberger, ARDL

Smithers announces that Henry He, General Manager of the Smithers Testing Laboratory in Suzhou, China, will be speaking at the 2026 Tire Technology Expo in Hannover, Germany, from March 3 to 5.

He’s presentation, titled “The Effects of Temperature on Tire Rolling Resistance and Relation to EV Development,” is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. CET on Wednesday, March 4. He will discuss how rolling resistance is impacted by the broad range of operating and ambient temperatures that most tires encounter while in service and how tire manufacturers can leverage theoretical analysis and experimental methods to optimize performance.

Ms. Loudiadis founded and led Rothesay Life, one of the UK’s leading pension insurers. Prior to the establishment of Rothesay Life, Ms. Loudiadis was a partner at Goldman Sachs International and cohead of its European Investment Banking Division. Over the course of her 30-year career as a senior financial executive, she led complex structured and M&A transactions and managed senior relationships with governments and multinational institutions.

The Rubber Division, ACS, announced that Professor Ali Dhinojwala, the University of Akron Gerald W. Austen Endowed Chair and H.A. Morton Professor in the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, will be the keynote speaker for the Spring Technical Meeting being held in Warrensville Heights, Ohio this starting this April 14.