It's time to decide who will be this year's William Stockwell. The president of Stockwell Elastomerics Inc. was named 2018 Rubber Industry Executive of the Year, in large part for guiding the century-old company through a transformation that allowed the Philadelphia-area firm to thrive in the competitive world of custom manufacturing.

AKRON—It's hard to believe Ed Miller's tenure with the Rubber Division almost didn't make it past the third month. Now, 19 years later, he's preparing for his final International Elastomer Conference, before retiring Jan. 15 and handing over the executive director reins to Lakisha Miller-Barclay, currently the division's director of finance and administration.

The United Steelworkers union finds itself in unfamiliar territory: Being on the verge of organizing a tire factory in the U.S.

If you ever read the tagline at the bottom of my Wacky World of Rubber posts, you'll know that I claim to find rubber-related stories everywhere I go. Well, on a recent trip to Ireland I will admit it was challenging. The closest I could come was at the most unlikely of venues: The House of Waterford Crystal.

BURLINGTON, N.C.—Flexaust is adding a new hose production plant in Burlington that is part of a strategic growth initiative by the firm that involves projects at its other facilities as well.

AKRON—Women are playing an increasingly larger role in all areas of the rubber business, from the board room to technical, sales and marketing roles, among others. And to demonstrate this trend, the ACS Rubber Division is holding a Women's Pre-conference Workshop prior to the opening of the Oct. 8-10 International Elastomer Conference.

ANNAPOLIS, Md.—NAHAD's Hose Safety Institute has digitized its handbook to create a series of online courses for those looking to be HSI-certified to properly fabricate hose assemblies.

If you ever want to make a statement on doing something for the environment, perhaps an "Earthship"—constructed with a variety of recycled materials, including used tires—is the next home for you.

BERRE, France—Making additives for tires isn't the largest part of Kraton's business, but it is one area the Houston-based firm is looking at for high growth with value-added offerings.

GRANBY, Quebec—Continental's ContiTech division has completed a project at its hose factory in Granby that makes production there largely automated.

HANOVER, Germany—Continental's agreement to purchase an Italian plastics hose manufacturer will go a long way in the firm's ongoing program to find "smart solutions beyond rubber" in its ContiTech non-tire business.

HANOVER, Germany—One of Continental's top research and development officials is pleased with the progress made thus far at its Taraxagum Lab Anklam research laboratory for dandelion rubber.

SEATTLE—The world of natural rubber doesn't always fall into neat categories. NR prices are cyclical but, for a number of reasons, pricing and demand don't necessarily match up in traditional terms.

Those of us who work closely to the modern rubber industry and all its technological brilliance may forget that rubber has a dark and violent history. The stories have been told in various forms in the past, and have come up again as the subject of a BBC story and podcast.