A dispute between Semperit A.G. and its Thailand joint venture over Semperit's right to continue selling and distributing rubber examination gloves in Europe goes to court.
Cable producer Helukabel GmbH opens offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Coimbra, Portugal.
Carlisle Companies Inc. acquires coaxial wire and cable maker Micro-Coax Inc.
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies completes an expansion of its Kecskemet, Hungary, factory.
Trelleborg A.B. concludes the sale of its 50-percent interest in Vibracoustic GmbH to Freudenberg and Co. K.G. and the purchase of Specialty Silicones Fabricators Inc.
Tri-Ace Tire Co. Ltd. reports it will build a tire plant in Taiwan to meet demand in the U.S. for its products.
Vystar Corp. closes its Kiron Sleep Lab L.L.C. division in Durham, N.C.
August
Conveyor belt maker Correias Merurio S/A Industria e Comercio has opened its second factory in Brazil.
Arkema S.A. completes the purchase of sealants maker Den Braven.
The U.S. International Trade Commission plans to rule on an antidumping complaint by emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber producers East-West Copolymer and Lion Elastomers L.L.C. against imports from Mexico, Poland and South Korea.
Nishikawa Rubber Co. pleads guilty in an auto parts price-fixing case and pays a $130 million fine.
ContiTech A.G. expands its railway air springs business by acquiring Vulcanite Pty. Ltd.
Firestone Liberia lays off 500 workers at its Harbel, Liberia, natural rubber plantation.
Kultevat Inc. receives its first process patent for the development of rubber extracted from the Russian dandelion.
A fire test center is added by Trelleborg Sealing Solutions to its Northborough, Mass., factory.
Gary Garfield, Bridgestone Americas Inc. CEO, president and executive chairman since 2010, announces he will retire by the end of the year.
Vip Rubber and Plastic Co. buys the plastic pipe division of Excalibur Extrusions.
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. schedules construction of a new thermoplastic elastomer line at its site in Chiba, Japan.
Shanghai Huayi Group Inc. moves to set up a tire production joint venture in Thailand.
Bostik S.A. adds production space to a site in Malaysia and opens a factory in Sweden.
Another worker—the fourth in the past year—is killed at the Goodyear Danville, Ga., tire plant.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Inc. earmarks $87 million to upgrade its Tonawanda, N.Y., tire facility.
A patent infringement case brought by Michelin North America Inc. against Atturo Tire Corp. and Svizz-One Corp. Ltd. is settled.
Hose maker Tristone Flowtech Group prepares to expand in Mexico and India.
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. sets up its fourth plant in India.
Trelleborg Industrial Solutions has agreed to purchase Schwab Vibration Control from Freudenberg Group.
Two Indian off-the-road tire makers aren't saddled with antidumping tariffs after a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Glacial Lakes Rubber & Plastics L.L.C. moves into a new building.
Trinseo S.A. agrees to sell its binder and polypropylene operations in Brazil.
The Polyurethane Foam Association creates its Molded Foam Division to address the needs of molded flexible PU foam makers and their customers.
ContiTech A.G. begins the process of building a hose factory in China to replace an existing plant.
September
The U.S. Commerce Department affirms a preliminary determination of dumping by importers of truck and bus tires from China.
Three-year contracts are reached between the United Steelworkers and Michelin/BFGoodrich plants in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Fort Wayne, Ind.
Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. acquires the automotive fuel and brake business of AMI Industries and opens a new headquarters in Pune, India.
Bridgestone Corp. remains the world's largest tire maker, followed by Michelin and Goodyear in Rubber & Plastics News' annual ranking of the tire industry based on 2015 sales.
Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. opens a tire research and development center in Concord, N.C.
Chemical maker Huntsman Corp.'s Polyurethane Division buys a honeycomb composite spray molding machine to meet the lightweight needs of the transportation market.
Mantaline Corp. adds a new plant and equipment in Hiram, Ohio.
Michelin agrees to buy Leorin Pneus e Camaras, a Brazilian maker of motorcycle and bicycle tires.
A federal appeals court dismisses a class action lawsuit against Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. over its failed merger with Apollo Tyres Ltd.
Michelin begins construction of its 21st factory in North America, in Leon, Mexico.
China's Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd. selects LaGrange. Ga., as the site of its $580 million car and light truck tire plant.
Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. plans to expand its weatherstripping production capacity at its factory in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Great Lakes Solutions adds global research and development laboratories at its site in Naugatuck, Conn.
An Arkansas jury orders Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. to pay $1.2 million in a case brought by a dump truck driver who claimed a faulty Hankook tire caused him injuries.
Midwest Rubber Co. acquires Xccent Inc.'s Medical and Industrial divisions.
Pinnacle Brand Group plans to launch a Hood Rubber shoe after buying the nearly 150-year-old brand.
Manuli Hydraulics buys a majority of the shares of PSI Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd., giving the hose maker an expanded presence in India.
Bridgestone Canada Inc. breaks ground on a $250 million capacity expansion at its passenger and light truck tire factory in Joliette, Quebec.
California's Assembly rejects a tire recycling bill opposed by tire manufacturers and dealers.
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions buys distributor Anderson Seal L.L.C., and Trelleborg Wheel Solutions purchases another distributor, International Tyre and Wheel Solutions.
Orion Engineered Carbons confirms it will close its carbon black facility in Ambes, Fance.
Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. prepares to start production at a two-wheel tire plant in Anji, China.
Officials at the former Firestone East Africa Ltd. tire company, Sameer Africa Ltd., decides to end production at its Nairobi, Kenya, tire plant and outsource production from China and India.
