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The Phnom Penh Post reports that Cambodian rubber exports were valued at $149.80 million in the first four months of 2022, representing an increase of 16.5 per cent year-on-year from $128.58 million, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).

Calspan has instrumented its powerful flat track tire testing machine with Tekscan’s High-Speed TireScan™ pressure mapping sensors to measure tire contact patch pressure distribution in highly dynamic operating conditions on the machine’s flat roadway. On May 19, 2022 at Tire Technology Expo in Germany, the two pioneers in tire testing and pressure measurement will share results and explain how this technology changes the game for tire testing.

COMERIO ERCOLE has signed an exclusive agreement for rubberized calendering process with HERRMANN ULTRASCHALTECHNIK to pursue joint cooperation for a revolutionary technology for the production of carcasses in the rubber calendering field where a tail and head of fabric cords is considered in term of lamination between the two materials. The development work involved the bonding of textile fibers which serve as inserts for the carcasses using ultrasound technology. The innovative joining system has been named ULTRASPLICE®.

– Last year, Michelin announced the introduction of sustainable materials in MotoE™ tires, to the tune of 33% at the front and 40% at the rear. This year, the Michelin development teams have overcome a new challenge by integrating no less than 46% sustainable material in the rear tires, thus allowing for reaching an average rate of 40%, corresponding to the weighted average of the mass of the front and rear tires. This result is clearly in line with the Group’s ambition to reach an average of 40% sustainable materials across all its ranges by 2030. “Although ambitious, this objective remains no less realistic for Michelin. The MotoE™ tires are a new illustration of this.” said Cyrille Roget, Director of technical and scientific communications for the Michelin Group. And he added: “it is mainly in integrating more natural rubber and recycled carbon black in the tires that we have been able to make progress.” Notably, Michelin has joined forces with Enviro to develop and widely industrialize an innovative pyrolysis technology that allows for recuperating certain original components, such as carbon black. The carbon black recycled in this way is reintegrated into the manufacture of new tires.

Trinseo reported its first quarter 2022 financial results. Net sales in the first quarter increased 41% versus prior year. Higher prices resulted in a 26% increase mainly due to the pass through of higher raw material costs, such as styrene, along with higher energy costs. The remainder of the net sales increase was from the addition of the acquired PMMA and Aristech Surfaces businesses within the Engineered Materials segment. First quarter net income from continuing operations of $17 million was $49 million below prior year due to a pre-tax charge of $36 million related to the European Commission request for information and additional depreciation and amortization from our recent acquisitions. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $178 million was $6 million lower than prior year as the additional earnings from the acquired businesses in Engineered Materials and a positive year-over-year net timing variance of $26 million from rising raw material prices was more than offset by lower styrene margins along with lower automotive volumes in Base Plastics

Continental has presented a driverless and fully electric test vehicle which it has developed for measuring the braking performance of passenger car tires. The objective of the fully automated test is to further reduce the braking distance of tires to ensure greater road safety. The AVA – “Analytic Vehicle AIBA” – enables precise monitoring of the frictional properties of tires during braking maneuvers on dry and wet roads. For the first time, the Continental AVA combines the advantages of a test method which is independent of the vehicle model, with the controlled and reproducible test environment of the Automated Indoor Braking Analyzer (AIBA). Continental’s tire testing experts can therefore perform tests regardless of vehicle specific characteristics. With this, Continental has one of the world’s most advanced and precise tire braking test methods. The cutting edge and globally unique test vehicle is used on the company’s proving ground Contidrom near Hanover, Germany.

Albemarle Corporation announced that it has endorsed the United Nations (UN) Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, a global initiative in partnership with the Pacific Institute, that mobilizes business leaders to advance water stewardship practices.

Clariant announced that the investigation of accounting issues related to provisions and accruals (as disclosed by Clariant on 14 February 2022) conducted by independent advisors and external counsel (Deloitte and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher), has been concluded. After reviewing the results of the investigation, the Board of Directors has determined the need for a restatement of the 2020 financial statements and corrections to the quarterly reporting of key financial data for 2020 and 2021

Thailand’s commerce minister Jurin Laksanawisit was upbeat about Thailand’s export growth, saying the 19.5 per cent year-on-year surge in March was the highest in 30 years.