2015 Year in Review: May, June

The last 12 months have been a busy year indeed for the rubber industry, from the sale of Italian tire maker Pirelli to a Chinese business, to the ending of a 16-year relationship between Goodyear and Sumitomo, to the breaking of the glass ceiling in the hierarchy of the ACS Rubber Division. Here is a synopsis of what happened.

Sudhin Datta receives the ACS Rubber Division Charles Goodyear Medal.

Private equity firm Genstar Capital acquires sealing and insulation products maker Boyd Corp.

Monolith Materials plans to build a large-scale thermal carbon black plant in Nebraska.

Trelleborg Marine Systems opens a factory and headquarters in Berryville, Va.

Jennifer Ford-Smithis named chairman of the EPDM Roofing Association, the first woman to hold that post in the group's 12-year history.

Specialty Products & Polymers Inc. begins work on a 3,000-sq.-ft. addition and fifth silicone mixing line at a manufacturing facility in Niles, Mich.

Passaic Rubber Co. purchases Pershing Roller Corp. from owner Bill Powers.

Hanson Group L.L.C. buys a facility in Peachtree Corners, Ga.

Juan Ramon Salinas is named to succeed the retiring James L. McGraw as managing director and CEO of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers.

Helix Medical L.L.C. acquires the silicone tubing line produced by W.L. Gore & Associates Inc.

An expansion by Hernon Manufacturing Inc. will double the size of its Sanford, Fla., adhesives facility.

Goodyear selects a site in Mexico for a new tire plant.

Kolon Industries pleads guilty to conspiring to steal DuPont's trade secrets regarding Kevlar.

The Fluid Sealing Association changes its focus to become an advocate for environmental compliance polices involving sealing devices.

Elastocon TPE Technologies Inc. considers expanding its manufacturing capabilities.

Higher speed limits in several states are behind the failure of several Michelin steer axles of auto hauler trucks,

according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Philpott Rubber Co. forms Philpott Solutions Group to oversee its rubber and urethane/plastics operations.

Molded Dimensions Inc. buys mold maker Knuth Machine and Tool.

Vip -Rubber and Plastics Co. acquires Bandlock,the plastic extrusion unit of Amesbury-Truth.

AirBoss of America Corp. wins a U.S. Department of Defense contract for protective gloves that could be worth up to $11.3 million.

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies plans to spend $8.6 million to expand its automotive sealing operation in Findlay, Ohio.

Joint venture partners Grupo Kuko S.A.B. de C.V. and Repsol S.A. agree to create a company that will produce synthetic rubber and rubber chemicals.

Plaintiffs' attorneys seek court approval for settlement of a class action lawsuit against six companies in the polyurethane foam industry concerning price fixing.

Lehigh Technologies Inc. executives see further expansion in the specialty material producer's future.

Evonik A.G. discloses it will build a precipitated silica plant in the U.S.

Steelastic Co. L.L.C. and RMS Equipment L.L.C. move together into a larger facility in Akron.

Machinery supplier Flexicon Corp. plans to double the size of its U.S. headquarters.

Rubbercraft Corp. of California works on a three-year plan to replace the equipment at a facility it moved into four years ago.

Changing attitudes among state legislatures could create problems for the scrap tire industry, warns Michael Blumenthal of Marshay Inc., former Rubber Manufacturers Association vice president.

Goodyear and Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. decide to dissolve their 16-year global partnership.

EnPro Industries Inc. agrees to buy the Veyance Technologies Inc. air springs business, which antitrust authorities required ContiTech A.G. to sell before approving its purchase of Veyance.

Saint-Gobain S.A.'s Performance Plastics division begins expanding its facility in Portage, Wis.

Sid Richardson Carbon Co. announces it will build a carbon black plant outside the U.S., probably in Mexico.

The Changshu, China, factory owned by U.S. Zinc Corp. is the site of an expansion.

Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. begins merging facilities in Brighton and Howell, Mich., into a larger site in Brighton.

Nine top executives at Toyo Tire & Rubber Co Ltd. resign, retire or are demoted over an earthquake-proof seismic isolation rubber bearings scandal.

Continental A.G.'s Tire Division plans to invest $280 million to boost tire production capacity at a factory in Hefei, China.

Antidumping duties against Chinese-made tire imports are affirmed by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

AirBoss of America Corp. buys personal protection and safety device maker Immediate Response Technologies L.L.C.

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies launches an expansion of its Morristown, Ind., facility.

Cooper Tire is ordered by an administrative law judge to rehire with back pay an employee fired for making racist remarks during picketing.

Omnova Solutions Inc. announces it will close a plant in Georgia and cut production at another site in Ohio as cost-cutting measures.

West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. begins construction of a factory in Waterford, Ireland.

Aiming to expand its presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Lehigh Technologies Inc. forms a subsidiary in Barcelona, Spain.

Bartell Machinery Systems L.L.C. celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Pinnacle Elastomeric Technology adds a mixing line to its facility in Lula, Ga.

Kraiburg TPE Corp. creates a subsidiary in Mexico.

Masterduct Inc. begins a project to add two direct extrusion lines at its Houston operations.

The latest rubber industry rankings by Rubber & Plastics News show Bridgestone Americas Inc. retained the top spot in the list in U.S. rubber product sales.

Trelleborg A.B. begins production at a new sealing and elastomeric products facility in France.

Vibram USA acquires the soling assets of shoe sole manufacturer and distributor Quabaug Corp.