rss1

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) released its 16th End-of-Life Tire Management Report, revealing positive momentum in tire recycling with 79% of end-of-life tires being consumed by end-use markets. This reflects a 10.5% increase in overall utilization, reinforcing that end-of-life tires remain one of the most recycled and reclaimed consumer products, outpacing materials like metal, glass, aluminum, plastic, and paper.

American Tire Distributors, Inc. announced that it is implementing specific steps to maximize value and strengthen the Company’s financial foundation as it continues supporting manufacturer partners and customers across its nationwide distribution network..
To implement the terms of the RSA and conduct a value-maximizing sale process, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Court”). During this process, ATD will continue to operate across its nationwide distribution network as the organization remains focused on supporting its manufacturer partners and providing its customers with tires, wheels, related tools, and accessories to support their business.

Ceat Ltd. announced a significant capacity expansion project at its Chennai plant. This strategic initiative aims to enhance production capabilities and meet the growing demand for high-quality tires in both domestic and international markets. The expansion underscores Ceat’s commitment to innovation, excellence, and customer satisfaction.

Brenntag held a celebration to mark its 150-year anniversary in Essen, Germany, where the DAX40 company is headquartered. The ceremony included many guests from the chemical industry, customers, suppliers and other business partners as well as honored guests like Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In his speech and in his conversation with Brenntag CEO Christian Kohlpaintner, the Chancellor emphasized the importance and the needs of the chemical industry and highlighted the success story of Brenntag. As a distributor, the company connects its more than 1,000 suppliers with around 180,000 customers worldwide.

The Rubber Division, ACS annually honors the best of the best with the most prestigious awards in our industry the Science & Technology Awards. The 2025 winners will accept these awards and be celebrated at a banquet hosted by Rubber Division, ACS and sponsored by Alpha Technologies on March 5, 2025 during the Rubber Division, ACS Spring Technical Meeting in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Each Science & Technology Award Winner will also give a presentation in the technical session following the banquet. Join us to honor and celebrate these individuals.

ridgestone and Geotab, a global leader in connected vehicle solutions, announced a strategic collaboration using data to enhance fleet optimization. Working together will empower Bridgestone and Geotab to further develop a fleet mobility ecosystem focused on fleet optimization. The ecosystem involves the integration of each companies’ solutions and data into services customers use today.

During a ceremony held at Pirelli Headquarters in Milan, Italy, the prestigious award for process innovation was presented to VMI. The award recognizes the excellent collaboration between VMI and Pirelli in developing new processes that address current challenges in tire manufacturing.

The application of VMI’s groundbreaking UNIXX technology delivers a high degree of flexibility whilst enhancing the quality of high performance tires. In addition, refined process control supports Pirelli’s sustainability goals by reducing the weight of compound in a tire, which combined with lower waste levels improves the sustainability and cost of both the production process as well as the tire itself.

ETH Zurich materials researchers have now developed a material that combines these supposedly incompatible properties. Ioanna Tsimouri achieved this feat in her doctoral thesis with the assistance of Andrei Gusev and Walter Caseri, both professors at the Department of Materials. Her work has given rise to the creation of materials that comprise layers of stiff materials connected by ultra-thin rubber-like layers formed by crosslinking a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixture.