Last week, Cabot Corporation launched a new line of super-conductive specialty blacks for use in plastics applications under the tradename VULCAN® XCmax™. According to Cabot, the new products provide among the highest range of conductivities achievable with carbon blacks as well as excellent cleanliness and consistency. Cabot also introduced a new line of conductive concentrates to complement its existing CABELEC® conductive compounds products. The VULCAN XCmax family consists of conductive blacks intended for use in wire and cable, antistatic flooring and safety systems, automotive fuel tanks and inlets, coatings, and electronics and electrical products, specifically for products that must be conductive or dissipative at relatively low loadings. This ensures the mechanical properties of the underlying polymer are not affected, which is key for many electrostatic dissipation applications.
October 23, 2013
October 7, 2013
Conti boosting capacity for high-performance tires in Germany
Continental A.G. has announced plans to invest $54 million through 2018 in its tire plant in Korbach to expand capacity for larger diameter, high-performance car and light truck tires. The expansion will focus on 19- to 22-inch rim diameter car and light truck tires, with increased capacity for these tire types scheduled to start in 2016 and expand to 400,000 units per year by 2018. The project also involves investments that will allow the plant to develop new manufacturing processes for these tire types. The project is expected to add 60 jobs at the new production line.
October 4, 2013
Bridgestone announces new PC tire plant in Turkey
On October 4, Bridgestone Corporation announced that its Turkish subsidiary, Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Brisa), had reached an agreement with Aksaray Province Organized Industrial Zone to build a new passenger car radial tire plant. The new plant is scheduled to begin operation in January of 2018, and production capacity at the plant is expected to reach approximately 13,000 tires a day by the second half of 2022. The total investment related to the new plant is estimated to be ¥28.0 billion ($290M).
Azelis to distribute Phillips Carbon Black product line in Europe
Antwerp-based specialty chemical distributor Azelis has announced a new agreement whereby it will distribute the Orient and Royale brands of carbon black from Phillips Carbon Black in Western Europe beginning in October 2013. Phillips is India’s largest carbon black producer and the sixth largest worldwide, with four plants and nearly 500 KT of annual capacity. PCBL’s products have already been available in Europe but this agreement transfers distribution to Azelis. The agreement includes grades for the rubber industry, plastics (pipes, films, fibers), printing inks and coatings, and conductive materials.
Tire Rubber Recycling Forum coming to Brussels
European Rubber Journal is hosting the Tire Rubber Recycling Forum to be held in Brussels from November 19-20, 2013. The conference will address the issues relating to the ‘end of life’ and disposal of rubber and tires, including the viewpoints of trade associations, academic bodies, government agencies, tire manufacturers, tire recyclers, tire suppliers, and researchers.
The Tire Rubber Recycling Forum themes include:
– Responsible recycling schemes
– Technical innovations in the recycling of rubber
– Recycled rubber products : sports surfaces/asphalt/blended products
– End of waste