2014 Year in Review: May, June

Expansions, court rulings against price-fixers and more tire plants being built or planned for the U.S. were among the many news stories that the rubber industry produced in 2014. Here is a look at May and June.

Industrial hose maker Norres Schlauchtechnik GmbH buys and begins equipping a manufacturing facility in South Bend, Ind.

Jaeger Group of Companies starts a $4.5 million investment to boost capacity for its Jaeger-Unitek Sealing Solutions Inc. operation in LaPorte, Ind.

Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. decides to merge its YH America Inc. and SAS Rubber Co. industrial product manufacturing and sales subsidiaries into Yokohama Industries Americas Inc.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary, NewAge Industries Inc. adds space and manufacturing and warehousing to its Southampton, Pa., facility.

Titan International Inc. management warns its work force that slower sales may hit its employment levels in the second quarter.

PanAridus L.L.C. patents eight new strains of guayule, the natural rubber-producing desert shrub.

The Industrial Solutions business of Trelleborg A.B. plans to buy hose manufacturer Superlas Group.

Rogers Corp. opens an in-house testing and design center at its Woodstock, Conn., operations.

Sleep Innovations Inc. announces it will acquire virtually all the assets of Flexible Foam Products Inc.

Brazilian synthetic rubber producer Synthos S.A. intends to add a neodymium polybutadiene rubber plant.

Carbon black maker Orion Engineered Carbons Holdings GmbH files to make an initial public offering to raise up to $300 million and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Trelleborg A.B. units plan to add an agricultural tire plant, refurbish another and move coated fabrics production to a third operation.

ABC News resumes coverage of claims of dangers caused by tire aging, which raises the ire of two tire industry groups.

Accella Performance Materials Inc. acquires RTH Processing Inc. and RDT Manufacturing L.L.C.

Bridgestone Corp. moves to invest $57 million at its passenger and light truck tire factory in Bari, Italy.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. discloses it may upgrade its Tupelo, Miss., auto and light truck tire factory.

Bloomer Plastics Inc. completes an expansion at its Bloomer, Wis., polyolefin-based products site.

American Roller Co. invests in a new facility at its Union Grove, Wis., site, relocates operations from another facility and starts production at its first factory in China.

The trade group EPDM Roofing Association argues over a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that could have an impact on rubber roofing membranes.

Qure Medical opens its first manufacturing facility in China.

Vibram U.S.A. Inc. and Vibram FiveFingers L.L.C. settlelawsuitconcerning false claims about its running shoes' benefits.

Disagreements over a provincial budget leaves Ontario's scrap tire management program intact, for now.

By enforcing a “Buy American” policy in purchasing athletic footwear for the military, the U.S. Department of Defense gives U.S. firms a big sales opportunity.

Superior Tire & Rubber Corp. marks its 50th anniversary by adding another plant.

Goodyear plans to invest about $500 million to build a consumer tire factory in North America or Latin America.

Members of the United Steelworkers at the Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia L.L.C. plant in Salem, Va., reach a contract agreement.

Argotec L.L.C. buys Stevens Urethane, boosting its presence in the polyurethane sheet and film industry.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. narrows its search for a site for a tire plant to Hungary and Slovak Republic.

A federal court judge grants an injunction to OTR Wheel Engineering Inc. in its trade secrets case against West Worldwide Services Inc.

As it warned its employees in May, Titan International Inc. lays off about 200 at six plants and indicates more cuts may be coming because of a slowdown in the markets it serves.

Toyoda Gosei North America Corp. completes the construction of a factory in Mexico, and it concludes the purchase of the assets of Meteor Gummiwerke K.H. Badje GmbH & Co. K.G.

The United Steelworkers ask the U.S. International Trade Commission to slap antidumping and countervailing duties against imports of passenger and light truck tires from China.

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies GmbH & Co. doubles the capacity at a polyure-thane products plant in Germany.

Arthur Rubber Co. buys a larger building in Memphis, Tenn., where it plans to move and accommodate its growth.

Garlock Sealing Technologies L.L.C. files an amended reorganization plan in U.S. bankruptcy court to resolve all its asbestos claims against the company and emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Rubber band maker Alliance Rubber Co. invests more than $600,000 to boost production at its factory in Hot Springs, Ark.

Toyo Automotive Parts (USA) Inc. sets in motion a $6 million project to upgrade a facility in Franklin, Ky.

Giti Tire Group selects Chester County, S.C., as the site for its first U.S. tire plant.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. resumes plans to build a technical center at its headquarters site in Findlay, Ohio.

Avon Rubber P.L.C. wins a $33 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to supply M50 gas mask systems.

Preferred Compounding Corp.'s subsidiary in Mexico plans to expand its factory in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Blair Rubber Co. launches an expansion at its Seville, Ohio, headquarters and manufacturing site.

Astorg Partners buys a majority stake in belt maker Megadyne S.p.A.

Private equity firm American Securities L.L.C. and managers of Emerald Performance Materials L.L.C. plan to buy the specialty chemicals maker from Sun Capital Inc.

The latest rankings of North American rubber product man-ufacturers by Rubber & Plas-tics News places Bridge-stone Amer-icas Inc. in the No. 1 spot, followed by Michelin North America Inc. and Good-year.