In this issue

Cover Story on new mobility and mandates

EVS: What's In Store For Rubber Auto Components?

Evs are going to rule our roads sooner or later. The crucial question here is: How far will this affect the rubber auto components sector? Though there are no clear estimations of the impact of EVs on the auto components industry, indications are that innovative and light-weight rubber and plastic components will have immense scope in the EV era.

4 mins

TECHNOLOGY IS DISRUPTING TRUCK TIRE MAINTENANCE

Companies that adopt disruptive technologies like Cloud-based, TPMS 2.0 systems position themselves to be extremely successful in a fastchanging and highly-competitive environment by utilizing the data and visibility this technology provides to optimize tire performance and maintenance and expedite operations.

5 mins

SLOWDOWN HAS NO IMPACT ON AUTO RUBBER COMPONENT INDUSTRY

FROST & SULLIVAN EXECUTIVES

4 mins

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL RUBBER COMPOUND REQUIREMENTS WITH STATE OF THE ART MIXING FACILITY: MR. ADITYA GUPTA, CEO, GB GUMMI LLP

GB Group has been a leading innovator, manufacturer and supplier of rubber molded, rubber to metal bonded and sealing products for automotive and industrial applications for over three decades. With experience and foresight of more than 37 years with GB rubber products, GB Gummi LLP is a strategical move of entering into the rubber compounding business with its expertise in the manufacturing of rubber products, realizing the growing demand for the high-quality rubber compound. In an interview with Rubber Asia, Aditya Gupta, CEO of the company, says that GB Gummi LLP is poised to make significant strides in the global rubber compounding market. According to him, the company will closely monitor the current and future demands of the automotive industry. “As far as compounding is concerned, we are future-ready in terms of recipes and production capabilities for any form of industry,” he adds. EXCERPTS:

6 mins

INDIAN NR MARkET GETS A BREATHER

After the recent spell of poor prices mainly on account of growing imports and lower international prices, the Indian natural rubber market is witnessing a resurgence of late. The trend is attributed to the slump in production in the major NR producing countries like Thailand and Indonesia due to widespread fungal infection in rubber trees. Against this backdrop, indications are that domestic prices are all set to bounce.

5 mins

HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?

Following the UK proposal for a ban on heavy duty tyres over 10 years of age and the possible extension of this to tyres used on taxis as well, most new tyre manufacturers are more cautious of setting an age limit on the use of their products than stressing the importance of regular checking and good maintenance.

6 mins

FOR WIDENING SKILLING REACH RSDC & NSKFDC JOIN HANDS

Continuing with its drive to extend the benefits of skilling to the lowest strata of society, RSDC has tied up with National Safai Karamcharis Finance And Development Corporation (NSKFDC), a Government of India undertaking.

1 min

EFFICIENCIES & SURVIVAL

What other low hanging fruit is available to the modern transport operator that compares with the savings that can be generated by real time monitoring of tyres? Give the humble tyre that supports the loads you impose the only thing it requires to perform for your gain -- the appropriate level of inflation. It is only air, it costs little and provides far greater returns than any other “improvement”

4 mins

BATTLE RAGING AGAINST PART-WORNS IN EUROPE

Recently organisations around Europe have stepped up their ongoing campaigns against the continued totally illegal and irresponsible practice of promoting and selling part-worn tyres

3 mins

APOLLO TYRES JOINS WITH GARC FOR FIRST TYRE TEST TRACK IN INDIA

This test track will be used for testing wet grip of tyres as per standard specifications

2 mins

US RUBBER INDUSTRY ON FORWARD MARCH

The US rubber industry, boasting a commendable legacy spanning over a century, comprises a variety of sectors such as tyre, tyre retreading, synthetic rubber, rubber chemicals, speciality rubbers, rubber latex medical devices etc. The region, still continuing to be a major force in terms of rubber and tyre consumption, is on a forward march despite ups and downs. The ongoing trade war between the US and China is posing a major challenge for the US rubber industry of late.

7 mins

TOUGH TIMES AHEAD FOR THE US RUBBER INDUSTRY

The US rubber industry, which has been recording a robust growth all these years, is in for tough times ahead on account of lower auto sales, higher imports due to strong dollar and lower rubber price. This may lead to stagnation in the U.S. rubber industry for a foreseeable future, says the writer, our US columnist

3 mins

SUBDUED GROWTH FOR TYRE MAJORS IN FY20

Weak demand for vehicles on account of aggravating financial crunch reflecting heavily on the tyre industry has its tell-tale impacts on the performance of Indian tyre majors. In fact, the Indian auto industry has been suffering from falling vehicle sales from third quarter of last fiscal. The first four months of FY20, has also been disappointing for the industry

4 mins

MALAYA RUBTECH INDUSTRIES -TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH RADICAL NEW-GEN IDEAS

Founded in the year 1988, the renowned MALAYA GROUP, famed for its unique, unblemished quality of TSR (ISNR) grades and various grades of RSS, is steadily scaling new heights with big expansion and diversification plans by incorporating groundbreaking innovative New-Gen ideas

10 mins

HAPPY TEAM, HAPPY CUSTOMERS, PROSPEROUS COMPANY

Founded in 1992, Tire Group International LLC is the world’s leading supplier of premium-quality tyres and tubes having a global business presence. With a vast inventory and access to millions of tyres worldwide, the company is ready for direct shipments to any destination. In this exclusive article for Rubber Asia, the writer with a rich experience in leadership and management, talks about what makes an enterprise a success

5 mins

NR Market To Be Balanced In Medium Term - Salvatore Pinizzotto, Secretary General, IRSG

Global natural rubber market is going through a dull patch of late with no signs of an imminent boom. Natural rubber, being both an agricultural crop and industrial raw material, its demand primarily relies on GDP and industrial production growth, and on supply side, certainly as agricultural commodity, it has a lot to do with planting investments that were committed 5-7 years ago and the weather-induced volatility that drives price actions, says Salvatore Pinnizzotto, Secretary General, International Rubber Study Group (IRSG). In an interview to Rubber Asia, Pinnizzotto touches upon the global NR scenario and sustainability issues in detail. According to him, NR market is likely to remain more or less balanced in the medium term. Excerpts:

6 mins

GST Is Beneficial To All Sectors Of Transport And Logistics - Satish Sharma President - APMEA - Apollo Tyres

The new GST regime will prove beneficial to all the sectors associated with transport and logistics, including the tyre industry. Apart from making the supply chain more efficient, the logistic industry would be able to better utilise their assets enabling them to offer better freight charges, says Satish Sharma, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA), Apollo Tyres Ltd & Chairman, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA).

1 min

Indian Tyre Industry Welcomes GST - Rajiv Budhraja, Director General, ATMA

The tyre industry has been supportive of all progressive laws aimed at promoting ease of doing business, bringing in transparency and operational efficiencies, and since GST is understood to achieve all these objectives, the domestic tyre industry largely welcomes it despite some minor discrepancies and skepticism regarding paperwork, says Rajiv Budhraja, Director General, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), in a brief interview to Rubber Asia. EXCERPTS:

2 mins

Rubber Park, Kerala - A Success Story

It was way back in 2003, India’s first Rubber Park, located ideally in the country’s Rubber State of Kerala, started production. Today, the Park, fully occupied by 35 units, is functioning quite well under the patronage and support of Rubber Board, India, and the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA), the JV partners. The success of this pioneering venture was the motivating force behind the setting up of the country’s second Rubber Park in the Northeastern State of Tripura. A few more Rubber Parks are also in the pipeline.

4 mins

J J Murphy Research Centre: R&Tech Services At Its Best

J J Murphy Research Centre: R&Tech Services At Its Best

3 mins

our current focus is on specialties

a bachelor of science in computer and electrical engineering from rose hulman institute of technology, indiana, usa, aditya kapoor, the young and energetic director of rishiroop group, has been working with the group for over the past 12 years. in an interview to rubber asia, he speaks out on all important matters relating to the illustrious group such as its pioneering innovative products, major industry segments where they find applications, the group’s decades-long relationships with several multinationals, advanced home-grown technology, efforts to improve consistency of product quality, developing new product lines etc. according to aditya, over the past two years, rishiroop group has consciously been focusing on specialties, on manufacturing and distributing differentiated performance-driven products in partnership with some of the global majors.

3 mins

tyres basis of all progress

all man-made developments are based on the foundation of the tyres which are truly the international ambassador of trade. we need to know ourselves and educate others about the critical roles tyres play in our daily lives in order to generate some respect for them. look after your tyres and they’ll look after you!

3 mins

slight breather in nr market

there are signs of a slight breather in the ailing natural rubber market thanks to a revival in the chinese demand, upward trend in crude oil price, appreciation of us dollar etc. meanwhile, in the indian context, demonetisation policy of the government appears to be a hurdle in capitalising the favourable price difference between domestic and international prices.

4 mins

Weekly Once Tapping Should Benefit Grower & Tapper

A system under which the grower gets the benefit of reduced cost and the tapper gets engagement throughout the week without losing any income has to be evolved for the successful implementation of the Rubber Board’s weekly once tapping system

3 mins

We'll Emerge as a Global Sr Brand

The formation of ARLANXEO, a joint venture of two industry giants LANXESS and Saudi Aramco -- is a landmark development in the global synthetic rubber business. In an interview to Rubber Asia, Jan Paul de Vries, Chief Executive Officer of ARLANXEO, explains the factors that led to the formation of the new JV, how it will leverage the combined strengths of the two partners to enhance their competitive edge in the global market and how it will benefit the customers. He points out that the current market environment with over-capacities and price pressure is a major challenge for the SR industry and asserts that ARLANXEO is well-prepared to face this challenge and position itself as a fully integrated major player in the synthetic rubber industry.

6 mins

Bane of Cyclical Prices

Natural rubber contributed almost 45% to the agricultural GDP of Kerala, which accounts for 90% of India’s Nr output. the state’s rubber plantation sector has over one million growers and half a million workers. It is the only source of livelihood for nearly 1.5 million families. Now this sector is facing peril, says Dr KJ Joseph, professor at the trivandrum (Kerala)-based centre for Development studies (CDS)

7 mins

NR Demand Will Grow

Natural rubber (NR) has its own domineering position in the industry owing to the superior technical performance of this natural elastomer over the synthetic counterpart and its demand will continue to grow aligned with growth of the tyre and vehicle industry, says Dr Lekshmi Nair, Head of Economics & Statistics of the Singapore-based International Rubber Study Group (IRSG). In an exclusive interview to Rubber Asia, she talks at length about the present challenges of the global NR industry in the context of the steep downturn in NR prices and about what is in store for this vital agro-industrial raw material in the days to come. EXCERPTS:

4 mins

Overcapacity Biggest Challenge for SR

The synthetic rubber (SR) industry, like any other industry, has some challenges and drivers that have significant influence on its growth and performance. Some of these may be transient, but some are durable. The on going situation of overcapacity has been the biggest challenge facing the SR industry for the past three years.

8 mins

Reigning the condom world

A world leader in the manufacture and supply of a unique variety of high-quality condom brands,condom machinery and equipment,Richter Rubber Technology Sdn.Bhd.(rrt),malaysia,is currently on a path of rapid growth and exciting expansion in a bid to serving the customers better with first-class products and customer services and reinforcing its global supremacy and presence.

5 mins

It's tyre safety mania now in Europe

The bold stance by Repak in Ireland that tyre collectors and recyclers of end-of-life tyres have a legal duty to enforce the correct management of the waste they handle has roused wide-spread interest and enthusiasm among many in the UK and Europe and set a strong encouraging precedence for the future.

3 mins

Read all stories from Rubber Asia

Rubber Asia Magazine Description:

Rubber Asia, the flagship publication of Asian Business Media LLP (ABM), is Asia’s premier and largest selling Rubber Magazine covering the entire spectrum of the Rubber and Allied Industries such as Tyre, Rubber Components, Rubber Machinery, Rubber Chemicals, Synthetic Rubber, Reclaim Rubber, Rubber Trade, Carbon Black, Silica, besides Rubber Research, Rubber Technology, Rubber Expos & Conferences etc.

With a glorious legacy of over 31 years, Rubber Asia is the pioneering rubber magazine of Asia with readership spanning the major rubber producing and products manufacturing countries across the world such as the US, Europe, Australia, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam etc. We have Representative Offices all these important countries.