Evonik Industries today announced a plan to expand its research facilities dedicated to high-performance green tires at several sites in Germany. At Wesseling, Evonik will add a pilot-scale line for precipitated silica to allow for working with innovative precipitation media. At Rheinfelden, where Evonik is building a new research center for silanes, the company is adding a NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) device, which allows for analyzing complex molecules. Evonik said that the total investment at both sites was in the “mid-single digit million Euros.” This announcement is part of a plan whereby Evonik will invest more than €4 billion in R&D over the next decade.
March 27, 2015
March 23, 2015
Carbon Black Asia Pacific Conference 2015 to be held in Japan in November
The Carbon Black Asia Pacific Conference 2015 will be held from November 4-6, 2015 at the Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu in Yokohama, Japan. This three-day event is one of the essential meetings of the global carbon black industry. The conference is sponsored by the Japan Carbon Black Association and chaired by Mr. Hajime Nagasaka, President of the JCBA and President/CEO of Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd. Notch Consulting is proud to be delivering one of the keynote addresses, covering global trends in carbon black supply and demand. Other keynote speakers are David Tauber of Tauber Oil and Katsuya Yamamoto of Nissan Motor, while other speakers include Tomohiro Kusano of Bridgestone, Li Bingyan of the China Carbon Black Institute, and Vince Guercio of CTC International. In addition, the program will include an array of papers related to carbon black manufacturing, markets, and applications. The Asia Pacific carbon black conference is held every other year since 1993 and was last held in Japan in 1999, when it was held in Hayama.
March 16, 2015
Notch publishes report on global market for insoluble sulfur
Notch Consulting is pleased to announce the publication of World Markets for Insoluble Sulfur 2015, an update of a report covering the global outlook for insoluble sulfur (IS), a non-blooming vulcanizing agent used in rubber components requiring a high degree of stickiness or tack, particularly radial tires, belting, and hoses. This 51-page report includes 11 tables detailing insoluble sulfur demand by region, market, and grade, as well as pricing, production capacity, expansion projects, and annual sales by company. The report is presented in PDF format and includes a separate Excel spreadsheet providing extensive supplemental data, including details on tire plant expansions worldwide. The report provides annual insoluble sulfur demand for all years from 2005 through 2014, as well as forecasts for all years from 2015 to 2020. Volume demand is broken out by major market (passenger tires, truck tires, all other tires, and non-tire rubber goods), by region (North America, European Union, China, Other Asia/Pacific, and Other Regions), and by grade (standard, high thermal stability, and high dispersability). Contact Notch Consulting at info @ notchconsulting.com for more information or to order.
March 11, 2015
Lanxess may spin off synthetic rubber business
Tire Business reports that Lanxess A.G. is holding talks with potential partners regarding the formation of alliances or joint ventures for its synthetic rubber business. The firm is evaluating different strategic options for its SR business, according to a company spokesperson. The restructuring is part of the company’s “Let’s Lanxess Again” initiative. This stage of the initiative will include the examination of competitive alliances to improve access to raw materials and will be executed in 2015 and 2016.
Michelin adding UHP tire capacity in Hungary
Michelin is spending $53 million through 2017 to add capacity for ultrahigh performance tires at its plant in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. The project will more than double the factory’s overall capacity, raising output to 6,900 tires per day from its current level of 3,000 units per day. The project will create 100 new jobs to bring total employment to 950 workers. The project will focus on 18-inch UHP tires for the European market. In addition to current product categories, puncture-resistant tires also would be produced, the company said in a statement. Michelin added car tire capacity to the Nyíregyháza plant in 2005. Previously the plant was dedicated to farm tire production.
In May 2014, Michelin announced that it will shut down its truck tire plant in Budapest by mid-2015, saying that the plant’s location made expansion unfeasible.
March 2, 2015
Columbian Chemicals to build new carbon black plant in China with Jining Carbon Group
Birla Carbon, part of Aditya Birla Group, has announced the construction of a new 240 KTPY carbon black plant to be built in Jining, Shandong province, China. The $190 million plant, which broke ground in late February, is a joint venture between Columbian Chemicals (Jining) and China’s Jining Carbon Group. The plant is located at the Jibei High-tech Industrial Park in Jining, and construction will consist of two phases, each with 120,000 tonnes per year of capacity. Each phase will consist of six production lines using wet granulation technique. Phase 1 is scheduled to be completed in mid-2016, while Phase 2 is expected to be completed two-to-three years after phase 1 (i.e., 2018 or 2019). (Note that the RubberNews article linked here has a slightly different timetable than the Birla press release, with Phase 1 due in October 2015 and Phase 2 due in December 2017 — the original dates seem more realistic.)
Columbian Chemicals, a Birla Carbon subsidiary, will provide the process technology while Jining Carbon will provide the feedstocks, including carbon black oil and anthracene oil, from an existing coal tar distillation plant at the site. Birla Carbon said the facility is contingent upon receiving final internal and regulatory approvals of the joint venture between Birla Carbon, Jining Carbon and International Finance Corp.