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.
2015 Year in Review: September, October

Henniges Automotive Holdings Inc. begins expansions in all major regions of the world.
Chinese tire manufacturer Double Coin Holdings Ltd. considers building a factory outside of China.
For the first time in its 18-year history, Amerityre Corp. reports a profitable quarter.
H.B. Fuller Co. breaks ground on a factory in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Preferred Rubber Compounding de Mexico nears completion of a plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Santa Fe Rubber Products Inc. adds to its capabilities with plastics-to-rubber-to-metal manufacturing.
Bridgestone Corp. remains the world's largest tire maker by sales in the latest rankings of the world's tire makers by Rubber & Plastics News.
Nokian Tyres P.L.C. continues to evaluate building a third tire plant in Europe despite cutbacks in Finland.
Titan International Inc. moves ahead with plans to expand its wheel plant in Turkey and considers establishing a presence in Brazil.
Private equity firm Littlejohn & Co. L.L.C. sells Henniges Automotive Inc. to a Chinese state-owned company and a Sino-American investment firm.
Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. breaks ground on a $500 million expansion at its Sumter, S.C., tire plant.
Polyurethane and recycled rubber product maker Accella Performance Materials Inc. buys three spray urethane foam firms.

RubberForm President Bill Robbins.
RubberForm Recycled Products L.L.C. expands its Lockport, N.Y., factory.
Lanxess A.G. plans to halt production of EPDM rubber at its Marl, Germany, plant early in 2016 as part of the restructuring of its rubber businesses.
Medline Industries Inc. adds equipment and employees at its facility in Honea Path, S.C.
Nova-BioRubber Green Technologies Inc. signs a research and development agreement with the National Research Council Canada to continue developing the Russian dandelion as a source of natural rubber.
Cooper Tire shows off a tire made using rubber from the guayule desert shrub.
The U.S. Department of Justice charges two companies with fraud in the sale of tires to NASA and the Kennedy Space Center.
Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies plans to increase production capacity in North America to manufacture its Levitex line of seals to the automotive sector.
Seal & Design Inc. buys Higbee Inc.

From left: Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib, senior vice president downstream at Saudi Aramco, and Lanxess CEO Matthias Zachert at signing of JV agreement to create a global synthetic rubber company.
Lanxess A.G. and Saudi Arabian Oil Co. sign an agreement to set up a joint venture for synthetic rubber.
Ace Extrusion L.L.C. expands by acquiring the extrusion division and a factory from Uniseal Inc.
Stern Rubber Co. opens an addition at is manufacturing site in Staples, Minn.
Rehau Americas opens its first North American technical center for the automotive market in Cullman, Ala.
Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc. prepares to acquire polyurethane film and sheet maker Argotec L.L.C.
Family-owned and operated Reliable Rubber & Plastics Machinery Inc. celebrates its 80th anniversary.
A Tennessee judge rejects Tepro Inc.'s motion for a summary judgment in a discrimination suit.
Excess capacity in the mining industry prompts Michelin North America Inc. to suspend production at a plant in Starr, S.C.
Fenner P.L.C. discloses the restructuring of its global conveyor belting business will include North and South America, and cutbacks are being considered. As part of the changes, Cassandra Pan, who served as president of the North American operation and head of the Engineered Conveyor Solutions Americas regional unit, took early retirement.
Trinseo S.A. decides to close a styrene-butadiene latex factory in Gales Ferry, Conn., while upgrading another site.
The dates of the 2016 International Tire Exhibition & Conference for Tire Manufacturing, held at the John S. Knight Center in Akron and organized by Rubber & Plastics News, are set for Sept. 13-15.
Zinc oxide producer Zochem Inc. gains Food and Drug Administration designation to serve the pharmaceutical and personal care industries.

Atlantic India Rubber co-owners Irene and David Morris.
SRM Industries Inc. celebrates its 10th year in business as a maker of protective products.
Goodyear and one of its former wholesaler/distributors, Robison Tire Co. Inc., trade breach-of-contract lawsuits.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations L.L.C. settles a patent infringement lawsuit with TRW Automotive Inc. and its EnTire Solutions L.L.C. subsidiary.
Chinese tire maker Shandong Linglong Tire Co. Ltd. and U.S. importer/distributor Horizon Tire Inc. sue each other in a contract dispute.
Bridgestone reports it successfully built tires in which guayule rubber replaced traditional Hevea brasiliensis natural rubber.
Little Atlantic India Rubber Co. continues to succeed in the unlikely location of the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.
ContiTech A.G. expands a belting factory in Morocco.
China National Chemical Corp. reports it now owns 87 percent of the shares of Pirelli & C. S.p.A.
Yokohama Tire Corp. opens a commercial tire facility in West Point, Miss.
Trelleborg Offshore and Construction plans to purchase Maritime International Inc.
A jury in Michigan rules against Goodyear in a $16 million case brought by a man injured in an accident he charged was caused by a defective tire.
Semperit A.G.'s Sempertrans business expands its conveyor belt factory and work force at Belchatow, Poland.
Advanced Flexible Products Inc. builds another facility near its site in Lake in the Hills, Ill.
Chiorino Inc. opens a branch in Dallas.
Jiebao Group Inc. opens a U.S. office and technical center.
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