Today's News

Matthew Cabe named president and CEO of Michelin North America

He succeeds Alexis Garcin, whose next position within Michelin will be announced at a later date.

Cabe will be responsible for all key customer-facing functions of Michelin North America, including sales and marketing, services and solutions, quality and supply chain units along with critical functions such as corporate and business services, communications, finance, personnel, information technology (IT) and legal. Michelin’s North America region comprises the United States and Canada and employs approximately 23,500 employees across 35 sites. Concurrent with this Michelin appointment, Cabe also joins the board of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA)

Korean tire manufacturers fret rising ocean freight rates

Rising ocean freight rates pose a growing threat to Korea’s top three tire manufacturers – Hankook Tire, Kumho Tire and Nexen Tire – as their business structure relies heavily on exports, according to data and industry officials.

Amplifying jitters, the global freight index shows few signs of stabilizing amid ongoing geopolitical tensions near the Red Sea and in the Middle East. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), a key barometer of container freight rates worldwide, soared to over 2,700 for the first time since September 2022.

NHTSA issues recall for certain Vredestein Apollo Tyres

Apollo Tires (US) Inc. (Apollo Tires) is recalling certain Vredestein Hitrac, Quatrac, and Quatrac Pro+ tires. A contaminated compound may cause the steel belts to separate.

AirBoss reports first quarter results and declares dividend

In the Rubber Solutions segment, net sales for Q1 2024 decreased by 3.1% to $65,469, from $67,556 in Q1 2023. Volume was up 2.3% with increases in several sectors due to increased momentum in the mining and industrial sectors especially towards the end of the quarter. Tolling volume was down 23.2% while non-tolling volume was up 3.6%.  Gross profit at Rubber Solutions for Q1 2024 increased by 27.9% to $11,033, from $8,625 in Q1 2023. The increase in gross profit was primarily the result of volume increases and product mix in addition to managing controllable overhead costs including additional overhead reductions and continuous improvement initiatives.

Global hydraulic rubber hose market forecast at $1.3 billion by 2028

The major players in Global Hydraulic Rubber Hose Market are Koman Hydraulic, Eaton Corporation (Synflex), Kurt Manufacturing, Parker Hannifin, Transfer Oil S.p.A., Piranha Hose Products, Manuli Rubber Industries, HIC International, Gates, RYCO Hydraulics, and Polyhouse India among.

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions announces the launch of its Innovation Center in Minnesota

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions announces the launch of its Innovation Center in Plymouth, Minnesota, US, providing its global industrial customers with a single partner for design, rapid prototyping, development and serial production, ensuring cost control and scalability of customers’ solutions.
Trelleborg created the Innovation Center to accelerate customers’ time to market, reduce the production cost of parts already in market and improve the transition from design to serial production. With increased capabilities, the Innovation Center is a dedicated space with personnel possessing decades of combined experience. It enables customers to work with design, materials, and quality experts throughout the entire life cycle of a project.

RWMay2024

Mixing

   

Utilization of AI driven solutions for rubber compound formulation: A practical approach

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into various industrial sectors has spurred remarkable progress in the field of manufacturing process development. This concept has been extended to polymer compound formulations, where AI techniques have been used to optimize rubber formulations as well. Furthermore, it is conceivable that mixtures of other polymers, such as TPEs, thermoplastic materials or polyurethane compounds, could be similarly treated. Advantages of employing AI driven tools include reduced development time, enhanced efficiency and increased accuracy.

Chemicals and Materials

   

University of Michigan researchers leap toward carbon neutrality converting CO2 to methanol

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a catalyst material known as cobalt phthalocyanine that converts carbon dioxide—a significant driver of climate change—into renewable fuels such as methanol.

Published in the journal ACS Catalysis, U-M researchers studied using cobalt phthalocyanine as a catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into methanol through multiple reaction steps. The first step converts carbon dioxide (C02) into carbon monoxide (CO) and the second step converts the CO into methanol.

The May Issue of Rubber World

Sponsored by:

This issue focuses on 

Extrusion

The issue is available online to our subscribers via our digital edition.

To subscribe, click here. For advertising information click here.