Gehring Montgomery announced the hiring of Taylor Murray, a seasoned professional in chemical engineering with a wealth of experience in manufacturing and selling coating chemicals. Taylor brings an impressive track record of success, having provided tailored chemical solutions for clients across North America, Europe, and Asia.

RPM International Inc. announced the appointment of three individuals, Craig S. Morford, Christopher L. Mapes and Julie A. Beck, to its board of directors. These appointments reflect RPM’s ongoing commitment to expanding the expertise, diversity and leadership capabilities of its board as the company continues to drive long-term growth and shareholder value.

Trelleborg Group has finalized the acquisition of US company CRC Distribution. The company is a specialist distributor in polymer sealing solutions and related value-added services in hydraulics, hydropower, oil and gas, as well as for pumps and compressors.

The January 2025 issue of Rubber World is now available online. In this issue we cover the following topics for Testing

The Rubber Division ACS will celebrate the 2025 Science & Technology Award winners at a special banquet sponsored by Alpha Technologies during the Spring Technical Meeting. Each award winner will also give a presentation in the technical session following the banquet.
The Spring Technical Meeting will take place at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, ​​​​​​​(Disney Springs Area) on March 4-6, 2025.

Brenntag announced a strategic distribution agreement for North America with Raveshia Group, a technical manufacturer of inorganic and organic pigments, enabling the further penetration of the pigments market and reach in the inks and coatings industry.

BKT becomes the Official Tire Partner of Six Nations Rugby, spanning the Guinness Men’s Six Nations and Guinness Women’s Six Nations, starting with the upcoming 2025 instalments of the Championships.

BKT’s innovative solutions are designed for the most differing user needs. The company’s portfolio includes over 3,600 products sold in over 163 countries worldwide. BKT offers the widest range of Off-Highway tires specially designed for vehicles in the agricultural, industrial, earthmoving, mining, ATV and gardening sectors.

uPont announced that DuPont™ MOLYKOTE® HP-300 Grease has successfully met rigorous hydrogen purity standards in accordance with ISO 14687:2019.

The board of directors of Ashland Inc. has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.405 cents per share on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on March 15, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 1, 2025.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has begun practical testing of a technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to gauge air pressure from the sound made by tapping truck and bus tires. Using AI to gauge tire air pressure from the sound made by tapping the tire, which previously relied on the driver’s experience, will provide logistics companies with solutions to various issues, including safe vehicle operation via improved air-pressure measurement, cost reductions and greater operational efficiency through labor-saving, and raising fuel efficiency by appropriately managing tire air pressure.

The exhibitor database of K 2025, The No. 1 Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber, is now online at www.k-online.com/2410. Currently, all the main exhibitors can be found there and the co-exhibitors will be gradually added. The fully booked trade fair is again characterized by the participation of international market leaders along the entire value chain. Exhibitors from 61 countries will take part in K and more than 3,000 exhibitors are expected in the 18 exhibition halls.

NISSEI’s US production subsidiary was established in November 2016 to provide large-size injection molding machines to the North American market on a stable basis and with short delivery times. The operation of the US factory began in March 2018. As a global supplier of injection molding machines, NISSEI has a management strategy of producing and delivering ideal machines from the nearest production bases to meet demands in each region. NISSEI has followed its strategical plan and established a global production system with five production bases in Japan, China, Thailand, United States, and Italy.

Orion S.A. has announced a series of layoffs as part of its preliminary fiscal year 2024 update. The company revealed that it will reduce its non-plant workforce by approximately 6%, a move expected to generate around $6 million in annualized cost savings starting in 2025. This decision comes as Orion faces several financial challenges, including foreign exchange translation impacts and weaker-than-anticipated volumes in its Rubber segment.

The Indian state of Tripura, under the initiative of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), has surpassed its five-year rubber cultivation target of 30,000 hectares. The state now aims to expand the plantation to 69,000 hectares, an official announced on Sunday.

The Indian Natural Rubber Operations for Assisted Development (INROAD), supported by ATMA, was launched in 2021 to develop 200,000 hectares of natural rubber plantations in Northeast India and West Bengal over five years. The Rubber Board had set a target of 30,000 hectares for Tripura under this initiative.

Now in its 25th year, Tire Technology Expo remains the tire industry’s essential annual event, gathering a global community of scientists, engineers, academics and professionals to share knowledge, learn about the latest industry developments, see new products, and shape the future of tire manufacturing and design. Join our industry on March 4-6th, 2025 in Hannover Germany and discover ground-breaking innovations from over 240 exhibitors.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (YRC), announced its decision to close its Prague plant, operated by its subsidiary Yokohama TWS Czech Republic a.s., which specializes in the production and sales of cross-ply off-highway tires (OHT), including tires for agricultural machinery. The production of tires currently being manufactured at this plant will be transferred to other plants within the YRC group.

Covestro LLC has again been named as a Top Employer in the United States by the Top Employers Institute for 2025. This marks the third consecutive year that the company has received this prestigious recognition, reinforcing its global dedication to fostering outstanding work environments across its international operations.

Protolabs has expanded its capabilities with the introduction of full-service production to help serve companies at every stage in their product life cycles—from early prototyping and pre-production to large-scale manufacturing and end-of-life product support. The evolution enables improved pricing options for larger part orders, enhanced quality control, and focused industry certifications critical in production while maintaining Protolabs’ established low-volume, quick-turn prototyping capabilities.

For the past four years, the Benvic Group has entrusted EcoVadis, one of the foremost providers of sustainability ratings, to assess their performance and progress around four themes: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement; and as such Benvic earned a Gold Medal for the third year in a row – this time reaching the 98th percentile in our industry showing improvement on all metrics.

Rubber Division, ACS offers a Rubber Technology Training Award for an individual already in the rubber industry seeking additional education and opportunities for advancement. They also have three $5,000 undergraduate scholarships available for students who wish to pursue a degree in rubber technology, polymer science or the chemical profession.

Continental’s Automotive group sector has appointed Karin Dohm as the future CFO to continue driving forward its already started path to independence. The current chief financial officer of the Hornbach Group will strengthen the Automotive team from April 1, 2025. She is designated to take over responsibility for the Executive Board function for Accounting, Controlling, Treasury, Tax, Mergers & Acquisitions and Real Estate Management, Investor Relations and IT of the future independent Automotive business alongside the designated CEO Philipp von Hirschheydt. The Executive Board for the Automotive business is scheduled to be finally appointed after the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Continental AG has given the necessary approval to the spin-off on April 25, 2025.

The Tire and Rubber Association of Canada announces the addition of BKT Tires Canada Inc., as its newest member joining a leading group of 26 manufacturers, importers, and recyclers shaping the future of the tire industry in Canada. BKT Tires (Balkrishna Industries Ltd.; www.bkt-tires.com) offers a full range of off-highway tires specially designed for equipment in the OTR, Agricultural, and Industrial sectors.

The 2025 AMAP March Educational Workshop will be held March 4-6, 2025, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Dallas DFW Airport South in Irving, Texas. This event offers an excellent opportunity to connect with fellow professionals and organizations in the industry while gaining valuable insights from educational sessions led by renowned industry experts.

The Company’s net revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was $923 million, up 2.3% versus the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Organic revenue declined 0.2% year-on-year, with pricing adjustments reducing organic revenue by 1.5% and volume increasing organic revenue by 1.3%. Foreign currency translation decreased net revenue by 0.2%, and acquisitions increased net revenue by 2.7%.

China National Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd, the company behind brands such as Pirelli, Prometeon, and Aeolus, has announced plans to build a new car tire manufacturing plant in Egypt. This development was confirmed following a meeting between Egypt’s Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, and Wang Jianjun, Chairman of China National Tire & Rubber, on January 13, 2025.

The Greater Akron Chamber (GAC) was awarded $3 million through the U.S. Economic Development Administration Good Jobs Challenge program, complete with a $3.4 million local match, to strengthen the polymer industry’s workforce pipeline through in-demand skills training and placement in “Good Jobs” through the Advanced Polymer and Manufacturing Excellence (APEX) initiative. The $3.37 million of local funds will be provided collectively by partners Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, MAGNET, Manufacturing Works, and Stark State College.

Weinheim, Germany – Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is starting the new year with a new management team. As of January 1,

MAXAM Tire debut its new rubber tracks line for construction equipment, marking a significant expansion of its product portfolio. The initial release features three versatile models—MT130, MT150, and MT170—designed to deliver exceptional performance across a variety of surface conditions and applications

According to industry analyses from Transparency Market Research, the tire recycling downstream products market is expected to surpass US$ 7.04 Bn by 2031, growing at a CAGR of approximately 2.89% over the forecast period. This growth trajectory reflects the rising awareness and stringent environmental regulations aimed at reducing the ecological footprint of discarded tires. The market’s expansion is also propelled by technological advancements in recycling processes and the widening applications of recycled tire materials in various industries.

The Rubber Division, ACS announced Rose Hernandez, PhD as the Spring Technical Meeting Keynote Speaker.

Dr. Rose Hernandez is a Science Program Director for In-Space Production Applications at the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory. She is responsible for championing R&D programs for a diverse research portfolio of applied science for advanced materials and the manufacture of products in space to benefit life on Earth.