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Celanese Corporation and Under Armour, Inc. have collaborated to develop a new fiber for performance stretch fabrics called NEOLAST™. The innovative material will offer the apparel industry a high-performing alternative to elastane – an elastic fiber that gives apparel stretch, commonly called spandex. This new alternative could unlock the potential for end users to recycle performance stretch fabrics, a legacy aspect that has yet to be solved in the pursuit of circular manufacturing with respect to stretch fabrics.

For the second straight year, Covestro LLC has been certified as a Top Employer in the United States by the Top Employers Institute. Covestro, a leading manufacturer of high-quality polymers, was also certified as a Top Employer in Germany and China, supporting the company’s mission to Make the World a Brighter Place, including for its employees

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced that Mark Stewart has been elected Chief Executive Officer and President, effective January 29, 2024. He will succeed Richard J. Kramer, who previously announced his planned retirement from the company following 24 years of service, including 14 as Chairman, CEO and President. On the effective date, Laurette T. Koellner, Independent Lead Director of Goodyear’s Board since 2019, will become non-executive Board Chair, and Stewart will be added to the Goodyear Board as a director.

Featured Training Courses for February start with, February 13 – Webinar: Optimizing Rubber Molding Process through Advanced Simulations
In this webinar, attendees will learn how simulating the behavior of rubber, silicones and LSRs during injection, transfer and compression molding process can help understand the root cause of various molding issues like imbalances, air, uneven curing, flashing, etc. Continuous improvements in part design, mold design and molding process are essential for maintaining a competitive edge in the ever-expanding rubber molding market. By using advanced CAE simulation technologies, design phases can be shortened, molding process can be predicted and molded parts can be optimized. Instructor: Harshal Bhogestra, Moldex3D

Michelin is planning to halt output at four factories in Spain due to delays in the delivery of raw materials caused by the crisis in the Red Sea according to their Spanish subsidiary as being reported by Reuters.

A dozen shipping lines have opted to divert ships that previously used this route via southern Africa, increasing the crossing time for supplies to Europe by about 10 days.

HEXPOL Compounding Europe sites can provide full transparency about product carbon footprints of their compounds. HEXPOL’s Rubber Compounding sites in Europe can now provide the carbon footprint of their compounds with an internal calculation tool built upon the principles of ISO 14067:2018. HEXPOL’s methodology of calculating the PCF data for the cradle-to-gate scope was recently certified by TÜV Rheinland.

ACE Laboratories has announced another significant expansion. This recent expansion is part of an ongoing investment exceeding $1,000,000 and an increase in lab space by 7,500 square feet. The state-of-the-art dedicated laboratory expansion offers dynamic testing capabilities for materials, essential services for predicting in-service performance of rubber products such as tires, belts, mounts, vibration isolators, bridge bearings, seals and much more.

At CES® 2024, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company unveiled the latest tire in the ElectricDrive™ family: The Goodyear® ElectricDrive™ 2, an all-season electric vehicle (EV) tire enhanced with sustainable materials1, improved rolling resistance2 and long-lasting tread life to maximize drivers’ EV performance. The new ElectricDrive™ 2 is the latest step in Goodyear’s sustainability maturity and contains at least 50% sustainable materials per tire by weight.

Wacker Chemie AG plans to further expand its silicone specialties business and is reorganizing its production operations in Europe. A new production site for silicones is to be built in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. The main drivers of this expansion measure are megatrends such as electromobility and renewable energies which require silicones from WACKER. Production is expected to start at the end of 2025. In the first step of the project, the Group would create up to 200 jobs. The investment volume is in the low triple-digit million euro range.

he Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, a leader in connected mobility, and Gatik (Gatik AI, Inc.), the leader in autonomous middle mile B2B logistics, announced the expansion of the industry’s first, successful integration of tire intelligence technology into an autonomous driving system.