A look at the rubber industry in the 2010s

2010

• The Great Recession ends, and a slow recovery begins for the rubber industry.

• Natural rubber prices hit never-before-seen highs, increasing prices of tires.

• Imports from China slow with duties on truck/bus tires, but other Asian nations increase imports to the U.S.

• The Rubber Manufacturers Association plans to split with non-tire members, who form the Association of Rubber Products Manufacturers.

• Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. picks a site in China to build a P/LT tire plant.

• Toyo begins construction on P/LT plant in China.

• Czech ag tire maker chooses Carson City, Iowa, site for new plant.

• Richard Kramer is named Goodyear CEO.

• Parker-Hannifin Corp. subsidiary agrees to pay $2.29 million fine related to marine hose price-fixing scheme, bringing the scandal to a close.

2011

• Birla Group agrees to buy Columbian Chemical Co., making India's Aditya the first- or second-largest global carbon black maker.

• Hankook hits $1 billion in North American sales.

• Goodyear closes plant in Union City, Tenn., a move that impacts 1,900 employees.

• Polyurethane Manufacturers Association celebrates its 40th anniversary.

• Bridgestone invests $1.2 billion to build a new tire plant and expand two existing facilities.

2012

• Bridgestone completes new technical center in Akron and moves in one month later.

• Cooper locks out USW Local 2071 members, but the two sides reach a contact resolution shortly thereafter.

• Titan purchases a closed Goodyear tire plant with hopes to revive it.

• Continental Tire the Americas breaks ground on its Sumter, S.C., tire plant.

• Michelin earmarks $750 million for South Carolina expansions.

• Bridgestone purchases land in Arizona for guayule development and research.

• Harwick Standard Distribution Corp. celebrates 80th anniversary.

• Hankook plans first U.S. plant.

2013

• Leonard Thomas takes over as ACS Rubber Division chair, becoming the first Black man to hold the position.

• ContiTech buys first U.S. belt factory.

• Kumho resumes construction on a tire plant that has been on hold since 2008.

• Apollo makes a move to purchase Cooper Tire, but the deal falls apart by the end of the year.

2014

• Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd. plans to purchase Cancarb Ltd.

• ContiTech agrees to buy Veyance Technologies Inc., formerly Goodyear Engineered Products.

• Cooper Standard plans to expand in Serbia, India and China.

• The Rubber Association of Canada becomes the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada.

• Goodyear launches Wingfoot One.

• Arkema S.A. offers to buy Bostik S.A. for $2.2 billion.

• Hankook Tire Inc. breaks ground on a Tennessee tire plant.

2015

• Terry DeLapa becomes the first woman to chair the Rubber Division.

• Goodyear and Sumitomo agree to dissolve 16-year partnership.

• PanAridus L.L.C. claims to be successfully commercializing guayule.

• Ohio Agricultural Research Center makes progress with developing Russian dandelion as a viable rubber source.

• Complast Solideal Inc. changes its name to Camso Ltd.

• Lanxess A.G. plans to spin off rubber business.

• Henniges Automotive Inc. is sold to a Chinese state-owned company, which launches expansions efforts in all regions.

2016

• Dow Chemical Co. gains full control over Dow Corning Corp., paying $4.8 billion in cash to Corning Inc.

• USW and Titan seek duties on OTR and truck/bus tires from China and other Asian nations.

• Audax Private Equity buys Preferred Compounding Corp.

• Continental confirms it will build a commercial truck tire plant in the U.S. and later breaks ground in Clinton, Miss.

• Home Rubber Co. celebrates its 135th anniversary.

• PolyOne buys Kraton Performance Polymers Inc.

• Roy Armes plans to retire from Cooper Tire. Brad Hughes is selected as his successor.

• Rubber Division opens training center in Akron.

• Lanxess expects to triple size of additives business with acquisition of Chemtura Corp.

• ChemChina buys Pirelli.

2017

• SR prices rise with raw material shortages and price increases. Meanwhile, NR prices drop despite demand outpacing supply.

• Giti and Hankook open tire plants in Richburg, S.C, and Clarksville, Tenn., respectively.

• Nokian Tyres plans to build a plant in Tennessee, while Triangle eyes a location in North Carolina.

• The ITC imposes duties on OTR tires imported from India and Sri Lanka and truck/bus tires from China.

• General Motors champions sustainable natural rubber chains, joining forces with Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear and Continental.

• Hurricane Harvey devastates Houston and impacts the rubber industry.

• Goodyear is fined $1.75 million by the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health for work-related deaths at its facilities in the previous two years. The U.S. OSHA levies a $27,713 fine for a fatal accident at the company's Topeka, Kan., plant.

• Dow and DuPont complete a merger that is 20 months in the making and begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

2018

• President Trump declares a trade war that begins with tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. At first Mexico and Canada are exempt, but the over-arching tariffs eventually include both countries and the European Union.

• Mobility becomes a focus of auto makers and their suppliers as companies across the board build autonomous and electric vehicle technologies.

• Silicone capacity tightens. The issue began in 2017 when suppliers fell behind demand and were unable to catch up.

• Michelin buys Fenner and Camso for $1.7 billion and $1.45 billion, respectively.

• Tenneco agrees to buy Federal-Mogul for $5.4 billion.

• Gates Industrial P.L.C. goes public, trading as GTES.

• Alliance Rubber Co. petitions the ITC for relief from rubber band imports from Thailand, China and Sri Lanka.

2019

• Continental and Cooper Standard are among companies to reorganize in the wake of slowing automotive demand. Conti unveils Strategy 2030 and plans to cut 20,000 jobs by 2029. Cooper Standard plans to close 10 facilities.

• An explosion and fire at AB Specialty Silicone in Waukegan, Ill., kills four employees.

• Parker-Hannifin buys Lord Corp. for $3.68 billion.

• Feeling pressure from investors, consumers and governments, more industry companies focus on their sustainability goals.

• Hexpol buys Preferred Compounding in a deal worth $232 million. The move merges North America's two largest compounders.

• Ed Miller retires as executive director of the Rubber Division, handing the reins of the organization to Lakisha Miller-Barclay.