Massive floods have hit five provinces in the Southern Thailand last week and have caused estimated damages worth 20 billion baht ($589 million USD), the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAT) said.
Read More
Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies announced that it has acquired Toledo Driveline, LLC., an Ohio-based aftermarket company that specializes in electronics and select hard parts for the aftermarket industry. The sale, part of a purchase agreement the company signed earlier this month with Seal Aftermarket Products (SAP), LLC., offers Freudenberg Sealing Technologies direct access to original equipment-quality electronic parts produced for aftermarket customers. Toledo Driveline will be integrated into Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ Corteco Division. The financial terms of the SAP-Toledo Driveline transaction were not disclosed.
Read More
U.S. Medical Glove Company (USMGC) announced the launch of a new division, U.S. Medical Accessories (USMA), to support its growing business of building proprietary medical exam glove-making machines.
The new division, USMA, will exclusively supply USMGC customers with support and service for its machines. This includes supplying the parts, components, robotic tooling technology, laser cutting systems, custom electrical panels, and additional accessories required for manufacturing nitrile and polyisoprene exam gloves.
Read More
RPM International Inc. announced that TMP Convert SAS (TMPC) has been acquired to be part of its Fibergrate Structures (Fibergrate) business, which is part of RPM’s Performance Coatings Group. TMPC is based in Simandre-sur-Suran, France, and is a leading manufacturer of outdoor design and landscape products under the JOUPLAST® and OCAPE® brands. The company has annual net sales of approximately €35 million and terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Read More
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a 5-year investment of $104 million, with a potential 10-year investment of up to $208 million, in four new NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) to create technology powered solutions that benefit the nation for decades to come.
One of the four new centers is TARDISS: Transformation of American Rubber through Domestic Innovation for Supply Security. The Ohio State University (OSU) partnered with Caltech, North Carolina State University, Texas Tech University, the University of California Merced, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Case Western Reserve University for this new center. This makes OSU the only university in the nation to lead 2 ERCs simultaneously. Faculty members in the Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering Department led the effort.
The international thermoplastic elastomer compounding group HEXPOL TPE has announced a name change for its US company.
Star Thermoplastic Alloys and Rubbers LLC (Star Thermoplastics) was founded in 1993 and was acquired by HEXPOL in November 2023. They will change their name to HEXPOL TPE Americas LLC, effective January 2025.
Read More
Henkel Corporation, a global leader for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings, and Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, have announced a partnership to enhance circularity in emulsion production by utilizing carbon capture-based materials.
Read More
Holcim has acquired OX Engineered Products. This acquisition further strengthens Holcim’s commitment to expanding its comprehensive building envelope solutions beyond roofing, providing customers with a broader range of high-performance materials for residential and commercial applications. Holcim Building Envelope’s leadership position and national footprint in the polyiso insulation market will accelerate OX Engineered Products’ growth in polyiso solutions
Read More
Bridgestone India Private Ltd. (BSID), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone), announced a strategic growth investment to expand
capacity and capability in India. The investment will be directed to the Bridgestone Pune Plant and the Indore Plant to reinforce the company’s premium-mass strategy. The collective investment will be approximately US$85 million with expansion scheduled to start from the beginning of 2025.
Bekaert has been selected for funding of up to €23.6 million from the EU Innovation Fund 2023 for its project “GRAND PIANO”, securing clean tech manufacturing in Europe. The grant selection will facilitate essential product and process innovation for electrolysis stacks, the heart of green hydrogen production systems.
Read More