Rubber News highlights hose, belt in April 15 issue

This week's issue features our third annual Ranking of Hose Manufacturers, available in the Data Store as the 2024 Hose Ranking and Directory Bundle. This coincides with our special hose and belt section, highlighting the latest happenings across the industries.

• European firms Tubigomma Deregibus s.r.l. and Fluortubing N.L. formed the Kentucky-based Tudertechnica Fluortubing US L.L.C. "to form a unique center of innovation for rubber and silicone hoses and extruded PTFE solutions for all North America."
• HBD/Thermoid Inc., for the eighth time since 2013, faces fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for alleged safety violations, this time totaling more than $321,000 for 14 violations.
• Tipco Technologies Inc. and HydraTech Industrial Solutions came together as one late last year. The merger, dubbed Tipco 2.0, will operate under the Tipco name with Rob Lyons and Brad Marshall serving as co-CEOs.
• Eriks North America took great care when it rebranded as LGG Industrial in February. The new name is an ode to the legacy of the founding companies, and it demonstrates the distributor's excitement for the future.
• Engineered and integrated solutions firm Nott Co. purchased Larkstur Engineering & Supply Inc. in March, completing a deal to combine the aggregate belting companies and additional belting capabilities of both organizations into a single entity.
• Rise Robotics is making limited licenses available for a patent that it says "unlocks new possibilities" for angular flat belt drive systems.

The U.S. EPA has finalized a major rule governing toxic air emissions at about 200 synthetic organic chemical, polymer and resin production plants from the Gulf Coast to West Virginia, a ruling Denka Performance Elastomers L.L.C. "vehemently" opposes.

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association has identified five potential alternatives to the tire antidegradant 6ppd following a comprehensive "preliminary" analysis completed by a consortium of 30 tire manufacturers March 25.

M&A activity is heating up in the rubber distribution market, as the distribution of industrial and hydraulic hose—as well as other rubber goods—has caught the fancy of many.

In our fifth annual program, Rubber News has identified nine firms that qualified to be named among the rubber industry's Best Places to Work.

A little more than a year after breaking ground on a 72,000-sq.-ft. drive belt production plant in Central Mexico, Dayco is beginning to reap the rewards of its $11.5 million investment in San Luis Potosi.

Continental added a new building to its South Carolina headquarters. Officially opened with a March 21 ceremony, the three-story, 90,000-sq.-ft. building sits within walking distance of the original facility.

Milwaukee-based Great Lakes Industrial acquired longtime customer Premier Seals Manufacturing, based in Akron, in December. A built-in comfort level between the two companies helped shepherd their combination.

Chemours Co. has made some significant changes at the top following financial scandal, naming Denise Dignam as its permanent CEO. The firm also posted a loss in its full-year financial results for 2023.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has revoked 2019 antidumping and countervailing duties on rubber bands from China and Thailand following the U.S. International Trade Commission's five-year review of the duties.

The U.S. District Court in Charleston granted final approval March 29 to a previously announced settlement between 3M Co. and U.S. public water suppliers over claims 3M contaminated water sources with PFAS chemicals.

This issue's Technical Notebook features Halliburton Co.'s Allan Zhong and Bryan Philpott and a look at O-ring electrical resistance in wet conditions.