LANXESS Selects Key Suppliers for Butyl Rubber Plant in Singapore

LANXESS, the world's largest manufacturer of synthetic rubber, announced the key suppliers for its new butyl rubber plant on Jurong Island in Singapore. With these suppliers in place, the project execution phase is now in full swing to set up the infrastructure for the construction of the plant. Production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2013 and the plant represents an investment of up to EUR 400 million for LANXESS.

Rubber Producing Nations Plan to Set Up Regional Market

Monday, June 21, 2010

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- According to an article Friday in wsj.com by Huileng Tan and Shie-Lynn Lim: "The world's major rubber producers, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, plan to set up a regional physical market in a bid to reduce volatility in pricing, Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Hamzah Zainudin said Friday. "In view of excessive speculation (which led to price distortions), it is timely for Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia to consider the joint venture," Hamzah said.

The regional market may also expand in the future to include other rubber-producing countries in Asia, he told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference. However, the chairman of the Rubber Board of India, Sajen Peter, said that the regional cash market would be a sort of cartelization and "would not work" as most producers are smallholders who are driven by supply-demand fundamentals. "It cannot be controlled the way you control oil prices; opening the tap and closing the tap would not work here," he said on the sidelines of the conference.

"There's no point in a few countries joining together and saying that you will not sell - it will not work." Rubber prices have been very volatile in recent years on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, with spot contract prices rising to a record high of $4.10 a kilogram in April, as demand from tire makers and other users was strong but output was low due to the wintering season, when rubber trees shed leaves and produce less latex."

H.B. Fuller to Acquire Malaysian Adhesive Business

H.B. Fuller Co. has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Revertex Finewaters Sdn Bhd in Malaysia from Revertex (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. The company announced its intention to acquire the industrial adhesives business in March of this year. The results of this business will be included in the company's Asia Pacific operating segment going forward. H.B. Fuller is a leading worldwide manufacturer and marketer of adhesives, sealants, paints and other specialty chemical products.

The use of structural methacrylate adhesives in the bonding of thermoplastics and composite materials

The use of adhesives in industry has increased significantly in recent years, but with the development of methacrylate technology the advance of structural adhesives has seen improvements in manufacturing techniques in many markets.

The term ‘structural adhesive’ typically defines an adhesive which can withstand high loads under a variety of different stresses for long periods of time. Structural adhesives are typically high molecular weight molecules, which are required to withstand and distribute the loads within a joint.

The reasons for using adhesive in preference to a mechanical fastening are two fold. Mechanical fastenings can cause stress around the fixing, resulting in stress cracking and where possible failure of the substrate. Adhesives can remove this. The bond line between the two materials produces lower stresses because the load is applied over a larger surface area. Along with this the adhesive provides a layer between the materials that can absorb energy in impact, allow for thermal expansion and act as a layer to resist fatigue.

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Rubber Price May Jump 25% as Demand Increases in China

According to an article Friday in bloomberg.com by Aya Takada and Yasumasa Song, rubber may climb at least 25 percent to the highest level in three decades as demand increases in China, the largest consumer, outweighing concern European use will slow.

Futures may surpass the 2008 peak of 356.9 yen per kilogram ($3,922 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange this year to reach the highest level since March 1980. Prices gained 3.6 percent this year after doubling in 2009 as the rally slowed on concern the sovereign debt crisis in Europe will stall the economic recovery, hurting demand for commodities.

Car ownership in China, the world’s largest auto market, will expand, boosting consumption of the raw material used in tires. China’s influence on the market and global economies is getting stronger and the demand from the country is setting the market’s direction.

Rubber for November delivery, the most active contract in Tokyo, gained 1.8 percent to 286.20 yen at 2:17 p.m. local time today. The price reached a five-month low of 250.9 yen on May 17, down from a peak of 338.5 yen about a month earlier. A price jump will benefit producers in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, the biggest suppliers, and potentially boost costs for tire makers such as Bridgestone Corp.