Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • ITEC
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • International Elastomer Show
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Goodyear to install dynamic driving simulator at Luxembourg site
      Nokian Tyres to add up to 150 jobs at Dayton, Tenn., factory
      Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
    • Order takes Michelin-Enviro partnership a step closer
      Goodyear to install dynamic driving simulator at Luxembourg site
      Nokian Tyres to add up to 150 jobs at Dayton, Tenn., factory
      Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
    • NewAge Industries promotes two from within
      EnergyEne gets grant to focus on guayule latex
      DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
    • NuSil's high-purity silicones are taking off
      Audia Elastomers launches new range of sustainable TPEs
      Order takes Michelin-Enviro partnership a step closer
      Phillips Carbon Black expanding capacity at site in India
    • NuSil's high-purity silicones are taking off
      NewAge Industries promotes two from within
      Rubber Division scholarships, stipends available
      DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
    • WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications
      ASTM cancels April meetings as COVID-19 continues impact
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Detroit Auto Show canceled; alternative event being planned for September
    • NewAge Industries promotes two from within
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Angelos Papadimitriou to leave position with Pirelli after six months on job
      Tero Peltomaki named Cimcorp CEO
    • Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Hwa Fong joins Taiwan tire makers' bid for alternative to import duties
      NLRB certifies USW as bargaining unit for Kumho Tire plant in Georgia
    • Editorial: Against a backdrop of turmoil, M&A deals give glimpse of normalcy
      Column: Pandemic looms over everything in life, business in 2020
      Column: Lessons from the 2020 Best Places to Work
      Editorial: Silicone hit hard by pandemic, expected to bounce back
    • Advancements in synchronous drive belt design for industrial and consumer markets
      Effects of multiple repurposed materials for reinforcements of standard rubber compounds
      Impact of peroxide blends on the cure rate and aged properties in HNBR
      Techniques to detect long chain branching in polymers
    • Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      IEC keynote: Communication key to logistics
      IEC speaker: Specialized elastomers may reduce spread of life-threatening pathogens
    • WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      New video celebrates women in rubber industry
      ITEC panelists say women can thrive in tire industry
      Rubber Division planning second Women of Rubber event
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: Nova thinks outside the box with sealing tech
      New Products: MonTech introduces 1,500 kN lab press
      New products: 3M introduces new durable, pliable medical adhesive
      New Products: Lanxess launches energy-efficient PU elastomer
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Goodyear to install dynamic driving simulator at Luxembourg site
      Nokian Tyres to add up to 150 jobs at Dayton, Tenn., factory
      Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
    • NuSil's high-purity silicones are taking off
      NewAge Industries promotes two from within
      Rubber Division scholarships, stipends available
      DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
    • EnergyEne gets grant to focus on guayule latex
      Rubber Division scholarships, stipends available
      Bridgestone bets on guayule as alternative natural rubber source
      Synthomer CEO MacLean to step down by early 2022
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Understanding and Selecting Performance Additives for Rubber Compounding
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Peroxide Cureable Silicone Injection Molding
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2022 ITEC
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
April 03, 2014 02:00 AM

Styron acquires rights to boost plant capacity

Mike McNulty
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    HORGEN, Switzerland—Styron Europe GmbH was looking to boost its solution SBR production capacity, while JSR Corp. wanted to move ahead with a joint venture project it was launching in Hungary that will produce SSBR.

    Both companies will get their wish.

    They recently reached an agreement under which Styron, a legal entity of Berwyn, Pa.-based Styron L.L.C., will purchase JSR's current production capacity rights at a world-scale rubber production hub in Schkopau, Germany, allowing Styron to further expand its rubber business “in a very economical and timely manner,” said Marco Levi, senior vice president and business president of the firm's Emulsion Polymers operation.

    JSR has had an agreement with Styron since 2007 under which it has capacity rights to 50 percent—or about 30,000 tons of SSBR—of one of Styron's eight trains at the site. The firm supplied SSBR to European tire makers. The Schkopau site is owned by Dow Chemical Co., but Styron owns a large rubber production complex on the property. Employees at its facilities are part of Styron's global work force.

    Of Styron's eight trains within its complex, three are dedicated to SSBR, according to Francesca Reverberi, the company's business director for rubber. The others are used for other forms of rubber, such as ESBR, PBR, Li-BR and Ni-BR.

    Another direction

    Based in Tokyo, JSR inked a deal in November 2013 with MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas P.L.C. to establish a joint venture in Hungary to manufacture SSBR.

    Once it no longer has a pact with Styron, it said its next course is to consolidate production capacity in Europe in the JV to establish an optimum supply system of SSBR for customers on the continent.

    Styron's agreement with JSR expires March 31, “and Styron will have the right to use 100 percent (of the plant's capacity) as of April 1,” Reverberi said.

    That fits into Styron's overall growth plan.

    “As owner of the Schkopau rubber complex,” she said, “we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity, particularly as this expansion is strongly in line with our growth strategy within the rubber business, and is a cost-effective solution to meet increasing customer demands.”

    With the additional capacity, Reverberi said, “we will be able to react faster to our customers' needs, and at the same time the production can be leveraged to produce our next generation grades.”

    She cited two SSBR grades Styron recently launched, both members of the Sprintan family of products: Sprintan SLR 3402 and SLR 4502, both adjusted for improved low-temperature performances.

    The two additions to the line have the combined benefits found in existing grades, including reduced stiffness at low temperatures, but they can be blended with other polymers, offering customers greater flexibility, Reverberi said.

    Both bring additional reduction in rolling resistance because of their functional technology that is highly effective with silica as well as other carbon blacks, she said.

    Synthetic rubber is one of Styron's core business groups, and the firm's strategy is to continue to be a technology leader and innovator in functionalized SSBR, she said. “We plan to do this by staying close to our customers and bringing solutions to them that create true value.”

    Reverberi predicted that with more countries across the globe developing legislation on tire labeling in the next few years, the need for SSBR will continue to grow.

    “Mobility will remain one of the megatrends in the next decade,” she said, “even if in a currently challenging economic environment, it does not always seem that way.”

    Rising prosperity worldwide will lead to an increase in tires and rubber consumption, she maintained, and a scarcity of raw materials—including natural rubber and synthetic rubber—will make it necessary to use less material to get the same or better performances from tires.

    That brings specialty rubbers or nanomaterials into play, according to Reverberi.

    “In 2013, we have already seen how customer behaviors have changed following the European Union tire label introduction. I am convinced we will continue to see how they embrace better tires that are truly "green.' “

    Related Articles
    Styron Europe to increase SSBR capacity
    Styron to boost latex capacity in China
    Styron sales revenue drops slightly in 2013
    Firm to add reactor
    Firm to add reactor
    Styron to convert line to Nd-BR production
    Dow Chemical reports first quarter growth
    Dow Chemical wins supplier excellence award
    Dow Chemical showcases growth in Asia
    Styron to convert production at German plant
    Trinseo announces pricing of IPO
    Research firm: European SBR market to grow 1.1 percent
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • ITEC
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • International Elastomer Show
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION