Last year began with Anne Forristall Luke stepping into a new role with the Rubber Manufacturers Association and it ended with Rahco Rubber President Steve Anton being named RPN's executive of the year. Here's a look back at what happened between October and December 2016.
October
VMI Group and China's Safe-Run Machinery (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. fight over VMI's charge of theft of intellectual property in China.
Alternative natural rubber proponents warn that having four Southeast Asian countries producing 85-90 percent of all NR is not sustainable.
Lanxess A.G. expects to triple the size of its additives business by acquiring Chemtura Corp.
Custom rubber compounder Chem Technologies Ltd. doubles the size of its second facility in Middlefield, Ohio.
Goodyear budgets nearly $800 million through 2019 for projects to increase production capacity for high value-added tires.
VMI Group works out of a temporary plant in Poland as it builds a facility in that country expected to open next June.
Preferred Compounding Corp. decides to move its headquarters to Copley, Ohio, to open up more space at its Barberton, Ohio, production facility.
A jury in St. Lucie County rules in favor of Michelin North America Inc. in a case involving a vehicle rollover after a tire blow out in which five people were injured, one with catastrophic brain damage.
HF Mixing Group GmbH's Farrel Corp. subsidiary gets ready to open a consolidated site for its operations in Ansonia, Conn.
An executive from TBC Corp. warns that overproduction of truck and bus tires in China has put the U.S. tire market in flux.
Guayule is passing all its physical tests with one year to go in a government-funded project to ascertain if rubber produced from the plant can be an ingredient in mass-produced tires, according to a Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. scientist.
Polymer mixer LMI Custom Mixing L.L.C. invests $12 million in an addition to its Cambridge, Ohio, operations.
The U.S. International Trade Commission rules in favor of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber producers East-West Copolymer L.L.C. and Lion Elastomers L.L.C. in an antidumping action against imports from Mexico, Poland and South Korea.
Sasco Chemical Group Inc. rejoins the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers.
David Stafford, Michelin North America Inc. human resource officer, cautions companies in the tire industry not to be complacent in his keynote address at the International Tire Exhibition & Conference.
The Rubber Manufacturers Association predicts tire shipments will rise only 0.2 percent in 2016 from 2015.
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. begins an expansion at its Dover, Ohio, automotive weatherstripping plant.
Continental the Americas L.L.C. buys independent tire maker Hoosier Racing Tire Corp.
Tire and wheel maker Titan International Inc. launches a specialty products division that will make rubber goods aimed primarily at the agricultural market.
Horsehead Industries L.L.C. emerges after a brief stay in Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code.
The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines Goodyear more than $1 million for in excess of 100 violations following inspections at its Danville, Va., plant where four workers have been killed this year.
Judit Puskas, University of Akron professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, becomes the first woman selected as recipient of the Charles Goodyear Medal.
NAHAD was nearing its goal of raising $100,000 for a charity that brings clean water to people in developing nations.
Bluestar Silicones moves its production facilities to Joinville, Brazil, from Sao Paulo.
Semperit A.G.'s Sempertrans Conveyor Belt Technology business continues to ponder building a conveyor belt plant in the U.S.
Nitta Corp. of America begins an expansion of its plant in Suwanee, Ga., and acquires Connect Conveyor Belting Inc.
Apache Inc. plans to move its recently acquired Pacific Belting Inc. operation to a larger facility in the Portland, Ore., area.
Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. returns to the off-the-road tire market in North and South America for the first time in a decade.
Nolato A.B. completes its acquisition of Treff A.G.
Goodyear contests the citations it has received from the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration at its Danville, Va., plant where four workers have been killed this year.
Arkema S.A. expands it facility in Birdsboro, Pa., in response to increased demand for thermoplastic elastomers.
Quality Synthetic Rubber Inc. prepares to open a silicone product factory in Queretaro, Mexico.
The Goodyear Philippsburg, Germany, car and light truck tire plant gets a pink slip, scheduled to close by the end of the year.
Benecke-Kaliko A.G. plans to buy the Hornschurch Group, which will provide its first manufacturing presence in the U.S.
Tariffs on Chinese-made truck and bus tires are raised by the U.S. Department of Commerce after the agency discloses it made two errors previously in assessing preliminary duties.
The merger of Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. may be delayed until February as European antitrust authorities take more time to study possible anticompetitive issues concerning pesticides and crop seeds.
Zinc Oxide L.L.C. expects 60-percent sales growth in 2017.
Cabot Corp. signs an agreement with Inner Mongolia Hengyecheng Silicone Co. Ltd. to form a joint venture and to build a plant in Wuhai, China.
Goodyear's newest blimp, Wingfoot Two, is christened in Akron.
November
Industry-related trade associations report they are pleased with the U.S. presidential election results.
Ford Motor Co. and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. executives report they are making progress on developing the use of guayule rubber in commercial applications.
Goodyear breaks ground for a tire plant in China, while Continental Tires the Americas does the same for a facility in Mississippi.
Wolverine Worldwide begins an expansion of its factory in Big Rapids, Mich., to accommodate a military contract.
Apollo Tyres Ltd. opens a research and development center and plans to build another tire factory in India, with a total cost of $89.4 million for the projects.
At its Greenville, Pa., facility, Austin Rubber Co. prepares to start production of devulcanized rubber and plasticizers.
Passaic Rubber Co. adds equipment, personnel and products to its Wayne, N.J., factory.
TA Instruments donates equipment to Ferris State University.
Wacker A.G. works on establishing a research and development center in Michigan.
The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal by Goodyear and two attorneys in a tire-related product liability case.
Chemours Co. revamps its licensing program for its Viton fluoroelastomer.
Akron Rubber Development Laboratory Inc. buys land in Akron suburb Barberton, Ohio, where it will house all its laboratories.
In South Korea, Orion Engineered Products announces it will close a carbon black plant and consolidate operations into another in that nation.
The China Rubber Industry Association hires a law firm to fight the U.S. International Trade Commission's ruling against truck tires imported into the U.S. from China.
Hexpol TPE rebrands operations in Europe to reflect its name.
Reebok plans to open a running shoe factory in Rhode Island.
Changes are in the works for Ontario's tire stewardship program.
December
Preferred Compounding Corp. acquires Trostel Ltd. to boost its mixing operation and add rubber product making to the Barberton, Ohio-based firm's capabilities.
Q Holding Co. more than doubles its work force by agreeing to buy Israeli-based Degania Silicone Ltd., while expanding its medical presence in Europe.
Hexpol A.G. spends $9.2 million to add a third rubber mixing line at its plant in Queretaro, Mexico.
Dayco Products L.L.C.'s CEO John Bohenick steps down to pursue other opportunities; Nick Orlando, a Dayco board of managers' member, is picked to replace him.
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions finalizes the acquisition of a Coors Tek Inc. subsidiary in El Segundo, Calif., aimed at strengthening the company's presence in North America and in the aircraft industry.
Maurice Taylor Jr. will step down next year as CEO of Quincy-Ill.-based Titan International Inc.
Steve Anton, president of Des Plaines, Ill.-headquartered Rahco Rubber Inc., is selected as Rubber & Plastics News' 2016 Rubber Industry Executive of the Year.