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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.

Bridgestone celebrated International Day of the Girl by announcing $200,000 in new donations to support the nationwide growth of girls flag football. These contributions include $40,000 for local programs through the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans.
Teams are utilizing the funds to meet the unique needs associated with creating or expanding girls flag football programs in their local communities. Common examples include equipment, training, transportation, and technology.

Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (DPE), a U.S. subsidiary of Denka Company Limited, applied for a two-year extension of the grace period from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). This extension was approved on June 27, 2024. Subsequently, DPE sought legal confirmation of this extension from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and filed an emergency motion to prevent the EPA from enforcing the new regulations during the review process.

On April 9, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced new regulations aimed at reducing chemical air emissions from chloroprene rubber manufacturing facilities. These regulations, which include significant measures to cut emissions of chloroprene monomer, were published in the Federal Register on May 16, 2024, and took effect on July 15, 2024. A 90-day grace period was provided, ending on October 15, 2024, for facilities to comply with these new standards.

From October 8 – 15, 2025, the global plastics and rubber industry will come together for its internationally most relevant trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. Like no other trade fair of this sector, K 2025 will provide the complete overview of this industry’s global ranges – once again guaranteed by the internationality of the exhibitors. Companies from all continents have registered to offer trade visitors innovations at the highest level. “Next year the Who’s Who of the plastics and rubber industries will be back again in Düsseldorf. We are very pleased that even companies who had suspended their participation in 2022 as a consequence of the pandemic, are now back on board again,” said Thomas Franken, Director K, Portfolio Plastics & Rubber at Messe Düsseldorf. Space allocation talks are currently underway before the K 2025 exhibitor database will go online in January 2025.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it is supplying its BluEarth-GT AE51 tires as original equipment (OE) to Toyota Motor Corporation for use on the automaker’s new hybrid sedan, the Camry, sales of which were launched gradually in Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia. The OE tire size is the 215/55R17 94V.

Rubber Division, ACS is now accepting online abstract submissions for these featured topics at this meeting:

Sustainable Raw Materials & Processes
Green Energy & Alternative Energy Technology
Elastomers in Medical Products
Polymers in Aerospace & Defense Applications
Advances in Tires
Urethanes
Environmental & Regulatory Concerns
Rubber Characterization & Analysis
Advances in Rubber Ingredients

Abstract Deadline: October 20, 2024

Bridgestone announced the debut of Firestone’s latest tires featuring the ENLITEN™ Technology, the all-new Transforce HT3 and CV2. Engineered specifically for hardworking commercial highway vehicles, Firestone’s latest fleet tires are designed to deliver wet-weather performance, low-speed refinement, confident high-speed handling and exceptional wear life. Both Transforce HT3 and CV2 maximize wear performance to help improve sustainability over the life of the tire.

The PGA TOUR and Bridgestone Americas unveiled the field for the second Bridgestone HBCU Invitational, a 54-hole team and individual stroke play event at Laurel Springs Country Club in Suwanee, Georgia. The tournament, set for October 24 and 25, is an element of the Bridgestone Collegiate Development Program, part of the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression, which aims to achieve greater diversity in golf through increased focus on developing talent from diverse and historically underrepresented groups.