Chemtura sells unit, factory
Specialty chemicals manufacturer Chemtura Corp. has sold its organic peroxides business and Marshall, Texas, factory to German organic peroxides maker Pergan GmbH.
The amount of the all-cash transaction wasn't disclosed, but proceeds will be used to reduce debt incurred by Chemtura to fund the recent acquisition of specialty lubricant producer Kaufman Holdings Corp.
All 40 employees at the Marshall facility are expected to transfer to Pergan, the company said.
Chemtura's 2006 sales equaled $3.7 billion, the company said, and the organic peroxides business had revenues of about $20 million in 2006.
IISRP offers rubber statistics book
The International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers has published and is selling its 2007 edition of the Worldwide Rubber Statistics.
Produced annually for 27 years, the book includes the joint forecast of the IISRP and the International Rubber Study Group, and also features revisions to data on elastomer capacities.
The book provides an analysis of capacity by elastomer type, geographical distribution and corporate ownership. It also features a graphics section that emphasizes statistics, another on capacities of the world's SR production facilities and a section on announced expansions of synthetic rubber plants.
For information on how to obtain the book, visit or fax 713-783-7253.
Conti to raise tire prices in the U.S.
Continental Tire North America Inc. will raise prices Oct. 1 in the U.S. on all Continental, General and other Conti-owned brand passenger and light truck tires by up to 6 percent.
The price increase-a result of escalating transportation and raw material costs, including natural rubber-will vary by market line and/or tire size, Conti said. It follows a price hike of up to 5.5 percent on July 1 in Canada on the same products.
Conti last raised prices on consumer tires in the U.S. on April 2 by up to 5 percent. On May 1 it boosted prices on its Continental, General, Semperit and private brand truck tires by as much as 5 percent.
Titan hiking OTR tire prices
Titan Tire Corp. will increase prices on its General-brand off-the-road tires by as high as 6 percent, effective Sept. 1.
The company said the increase will offset rising raw material and energy costs and allow it to realign its base price listings to market conditions.
Titan Tire, a subsidiary of Titan International Inc., manufactures General-brand OTR tires through a licensing arrangement with Continental Tire North America Inc. since its purchase of Conti's Bryan, Ohio, OTR tire plant.
Mercedes picks Advan tires
Mercedes-Benz A.G. has selected Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.'s Advan Sport high performance tires as original equipment on several Mercedes-Benz performance vehicles for the global market, according to Yokohama.
The tires will outfit the Mercedes CL 63 AMG, the CL 65 AMG and the ML 63 AMG models, which are sport-tuned versions of the car maker's CL-class luxury coupe and M-class premium sport-utility vehicle.
Sizes offered will be 255/35ZR20 XL for the front and 275/35ZR20 XL for the rear of both the CL 65 AMG and CL 63 AMG, and 295/40ZR20 106Y for the front and rear of the ML 63 AMG.
In brief
Parker Hannifin Corp. is changing its Powertrain division name to Integrated Sealing Systems division...Flexsys S.p.A. completed its acquisition of Chemetall GmbH's rubber chemicals business...Continental Tire North America Inc. plans to launch a college credit program at its Mount Vernon, Ill., plant in conjunction with a local college and university, giving employees the opportunity to earn associate degrees...Kokusai USA relocated its North American headquarters to 5333 W. 79th St., Indianapolis 46268.