March 25, 2019 The Rubber Industry’s International Newspaper $99 per year. $4.50 per copy Goodyear making progress Firm emphasizes safety after four deaths at Virginia plant By Miles Moore performing maintenance on an alpha shear machine Rubber & Plastics News Staff on Aug. 12, 2016. DANVILLE, Va.—Two years after reaching a settle- In addition to the cash settlement, Goodyear and ment with Virginia regarding the accidental deaths of United Steelworkers Union Local 831, which rep- four workers at its Danville plant, Goodyear said it is resents hourly workers at the Danville facility, com- progressing with creating a safer work environment at mitted to successfully completing the application the facility. process for membership in the Virginia Voluntary Fukoku’s manufacturing plant in Laurens, S.C., is going “An in-depth review of our safety processes and cul- Protection program. Thus far, VOSH said Goodyear to invest $3 million for six new machines to be installed ture in early 2017 revealed that we had not met our has taken preliminary steps for applying for Virgin- throughout the first three quarters of 2019. own expectations for safety leadership in Danville,” ia’s STAR status and also is considering the formal said Ellis Jones, Goodyear senior director, global envi- Virginia Challenge process. The latter is a three- ronmental health, safety and sustainability. stage process that provides participants a road map “As a result, we are focused on improving our to making its work site one of the safest and healthi- Fukoku adds more safety systems, including equipment, training and est in the nation, according to the state agency. processes, as well as implementing a serious injury Jones said Goodyear is “progressing along with prevention program and a safety leadership curricu- the VPP process as planned in Danville, leveraging production in U.S. lum for all plant leaders at the site.” best practices and learnings from four Goodyear Goodyear reached a $1.75 million settlement with sites that have achieved VPP Star Status as well as By Chris Sweeney the Virginia Department of Occupational Safety other VPP mentor organizations within Virginia.” Rubber & Plastics News Staff and Health on Feb. 28, 2017. The agreement was to The agreement also set out an orderly process for LAURENS, S.C.—Fukoku America continues to settle 150 proposed citations connected with the fol- eliminating the more than 1,400 workplace hazards strengthen its presence in the U.S. market. lowing deaths at the Danville facility: VOSH inspectors identified at Danville, according The firm is in the process of adding six new machines • Jeanie Lynne Strader, 56, caught in machine to the agency. Goodyear retained up to $750,000 in to address additional growth within the region. The au- rollers on Aug. 31, 2015; penalties to abate the hazards and assist efforts in tomotive supplier is investing $3 million and will install • Kevin Waid Edmunds, 54, pinned between a meeting VPP requirements, it said. the machines two at a time in each of the first three wall and a pallet containing 3,500 pounds of rubber “The agreement required Goodyear and the Unit- quarters of 2019. on March 31, 2016; ed Steelworkers to jointly prioritize each violation,” The firm will add about 20 jobs in conjunction with the • Charles Gregory Cooper, 53, who fell into a pit VOSH said. The company and the union would as- new equipment. It currently employs about 150 people at sump containing scalding water and oil on April 12, sign each violation to be Category 1 (to be abated its 105,900-sq.-ft. facility in Laurens that opened in 2001. 2016; and within 30 days), Category 2 (within 90 days) or Cat- “We have a very aggressive sales force and a fantastic • William Christopher Scheier, 47, killed while See Goodyear, page 22 sales manager,” Plant General Manager Bob Schulmeis- ter said. “They’re out there growing our business. We have some of the highest quality in the industry and we’re cost-competitive.” At Laurens, Fukoku produces four product lines, all for the automotive industry: plastic constant velocity joint boots, plastic steering column boots, rubber brake booster diaphragms and rubber radiator seals. It operates a ware- house so its sister plants can ship product into the U.S. See Fukoku, page 22 Hubner to build plant in Tennessee By Chris Sweeney operational costs, a pro-business environment, a Rubber & Plastics News Staff strong work force and local incentives such as tax DUNLAP, Tenn.—Hubner GmbH & Co. K.G. is abatements and training grants. getting ready to expand its rubber manufacturing “They’re a very pro-business state,” Paquette presence in the U.S. said of Tennessee. “From an economics standpoint, The firm is set to begin construction on an elasto- they made it very enticing. The local universities meric products plant in Dunlap, which represents a and STEM programs are really strong in the great- $10 million investment. The site initially will span er Chattanooga area. We wanted to make sure we 36,000 square feet with 15 employees and is sched- were getting highly qualified skilled labor to work uled to be operational in the beginning of 2020. The at our company.” firm said if targets are reached it will add another Hubner currently employs 125 people at its 36,000 square feet in a second phase. Employment is 160,000-sq.-ft. site in Mount Pleasant, which produc- projected to reach 70 by the end of 2024. es gangway and articulation systems for buses and Construction is scheduled to begin sometime in trains, along with airport canopy systems used by April, according to Ron Paquette, managing direc- passengers to board airlines from the terminal. Hub- tor of Hubner Manufacturing Corp., the firm’s U.S. ner also has a hub in San Jose, Calif., that employs 10 subsidiary located in Mount Pleasant, S.C. people to support its laser and photonics business. Paquette said Hubner spent a year doing its due Paquette said the firm’s systems business is its diligence, initially looking to acquire a company. largest product line, representing about 45 percent When that plan didn’t work out, the firm consid- of its global sales. Its mobilities group—which in- ered 11 sites in six states, ultimately settling on cludes its rubber, polyurethane and plastic manu- Hubner’s extruded rubber seals are used in window systems Dunlap for a variety of reasons. Those include: low See Hubner, page 21 for the transportation industry. ©Entire contents copyright 2019 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. PROGRAM NEWS May 21-22, 2019 Schaumburg IL More details on page 16

RUBBERNEWS.COM/HEALTHCARE www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 3

Goodyear to reduce work force amid plant upgrades Dynamic secures new facility AKRON—Goodyear has approved plans By Kyle Brown to modernize tire plants in Hanau and Rubber & Plastics News Staff Fulda, Germany, during the next two to DES PLAINES, Ill.—Dynamic Rub- three years to increase capacity for larger ber Inc. is moving into its fourth new rim-diameter consumer tires. space since the company’s beginning The plan, disclosed March 19 in an 8K in 2002. filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange It plans to start its move into a new Commission, will result in the elimination 30,000-sq.-ft. building by April, Pres- of about 1,000 jobs at the two factories be- ident Roger Anderson said. The com- cause of efficiency gains related to the use of pany is investing about $300,000 in newer equipment and new plant layouts. the transition, which includes adding The plan is subject to consultation with new equipment. relevant employee representative bodies, Anderson started Dynamic, which Goodyear said. The plants, operated by produces inflatable seals and blad- Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany GmbH, ders, to reach a niche market, and employ about 2,800 hourly workers now— quickly started expanding. The com- Dynamic’s work force is preparing to move into a new manufacturing facility, 1,300 in Hanau in western Germany and pany began in a 3,000-sq.-ft. building doubling its footprint to 30,000 square feet with a $300,000 investment. 1,500 in Fulda in central Germany. before moving up to 10,000 square Goodyear did not disclose the projected feet and then its current 15,000-sq.- its inception, including during reces- The company is adding another pro- investment for the factory restructuring ft. location in Des Plaines. sion years, though at a slower rate. duction line for seals with fabric rein- nor the project’s effect on capacity, but it “We’ve been growing since about Anderson said part of that is because of forcement, bringing the total number did say in the 8K filing that it estimates 2010 probably at an average of about Dynamic’s involvement in the food in- of lines to five. The addition comes pre-tax charges associated with this plan 10-15 percent a year. It’s good dustry, which doesn’t go away during a partially to support a large new paper to be at least $135 million. growth,” Anderson said. recession. He credits customer service industry customer based in Sweden It expects to record about $90 million of As part of a smaller market, Dynam- as one of the major reasons the compa- that moved its business from a compet- these charges in the first quarter of 2019 and ic and its competitors have all seen ny has seen continued growth. itor to Dynamic, Anderson said. to make cash payments of about $30 million continued growth, Anderson said. His “A lot of people, because it’s a niche The investment also includes a new in 2020 and $40 million in 2021. company recently picked up an account industry, they’ll take a week to get a enclosed oven which will allow for Both the Hanau and Fulda plants are in China, and opened another large quote out,” Anderson said. “Our compet- larger molds to be cured, Anderson rated at 21,000 passenger and light truck account with an aerospace client itors’ lead times are 6-16 weeks, where said. The company currently has an tires a day. through an accredited third party. we try to keep a 2-3 week lead time in infrared oven, which doesn’t always “Right now, everyone’s booming, some areas, 4 weeks at the longest.” provide even heat throughout the mold. Firestone cutting 800 jobs at everyone’s busy,” he said. As the business continued expand- “So we’re upgrading to a convection plantation in west Africa Dynamic’s products have main ap- ing, Dynamic outgrew the Des oven, which distributes the heat better, plications in paper, aerospace and food Plaines facility. The new location, in and you can control the heat,” he said. HARBEL, Liberia—Firestone Natural processing, Anderson said. For exam- Mount Prospect, Ill., is fewer than Dynamic has 23 employees, and Rubber Co. has announced plans to reduce ple, its gaskets are used in smoke- five miles away, “just up the street Anderson has goals of reaching 30 its work force by 13 percent, or about 800 houses for smoked meats producers basically,” Anderson said. “We’ve al- employees within the next two years employees, in Liberia by the second quarter including Tyson and Purdue. Another ways been in the same area.” “if we keep growing at the 10 percent of 2019. large application is leak testing, such Dynamic plans to move half of the rate,” he said. “But you never know The indirect subsidiary of Bridgestone as inflating a rubber bladder around a company into the Mount Prospect loca- with a niche market.” Americas Inc. linked the decision to contin- weld to do pressure testing. tion in April, and then slowly move the The Mount Prospect location has ued and unsustainable losses because of The majority of Dynamic’s work is rest in over the summer, minimizing enough space to continue developing high overhead costs. Factors also included with either EPDM or silicone, though downtime to “a few days if we do it alongside future expansion past the the impact of prolonged civil wars on pro- it does some work with fluoroelasto- right,” Anderson said. The facility will Des Plaines facility, Anderson said. duction and low rubber prices. mers, neoprene and nitrile. It also have about 2,000 square feet of offices, “It’s roughly double the size of what The firm said job cuts will occur across uses fabrics such as Nomex, Kevlar, with the rest being shop area, includ- we’re in now, so we’ll have plenty of room the company’s operations and include re- Dacron and fiberglass, he said. ing a cold room, mold storage room, to grow,” he said. “But I thought this tirements, work-contract discontinuations Dynamic has grown every year since and shipping and receiving, he said. place would be big enough too, though.” and redundancies. INSIDE THIS EDITION RPN searches for best places to work ARPM evaluates industry AKRON—Rubber & Plastics News is launching a search machinery and lab equipment; rubber recycling firms; distrib- to identify the Best Places to Work in the rubber industry. utor/fabricators of finished rubber goods to end users; and The Association for Rubber Products The publication, working with the Best Companies distributors of materials, equipment or services. Manufacturers delivered its annual state of Group, is inviting U.S. and Canadian companies doing The first step in the competition is for a business to the industry report, showcasing where its business in any aspect of the rubber industry to register register for participation, and the deadline for that is May 90-plus members stand on key issues facing by May 17 to participate in the program. 17. There is no cost to participate, as long as the surveys rubber product manufacturers...... Page 4 In short, the inaugural Rubber & Plastics News Best are completed online. To view full participation details, Places to Work is a survey competition designed to deter- visit www.rubbbernews.com/bestplaces. Lehigh keeps rolling mine which participants are the best employers. The pro- After registration, the competition includes two surveys Lehigh Technologies Inc. continues to cess is managed by Best Companies Group, with winners to gather detailed data about each participating company. build successful relationships with other tire announced this fall in a special report in RPN. BCG conducts the surveys, analyzes the data makers in the wake of being bought out by Best Companies Group is an independent and determines the winners and rankings. Michelin in October of 2017...... Page 6 research firm that specializes in identifying The first survey is an Employer Benefits & and recognizing great places to work. It man- Policies Questionnaire, where the employer Joint venture expands ages programs worldwide, including in the details company policies, practices, benefits U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. and demographics. MTE Engineered Materials L.L.C., a joint There are a number of benefits to being named The second part is the Employee Engagement venture between Mark Tool & Rubber Co. a Rubber & Plastics News Best Places to Work. & Satisfaction Survey. The employees answer a Inc. and Elite Elastomers Inc., is in the With employee recruitment and retention an on- series of questions, using a scale ranging from process of establishing a new facility, part of going issue in the rubber industry, earning such “Agree Strongly” to “Disagree Strongly.” BCG our special report on oil and gas. . . . Page 10 a distinction will set your organization apart said it should take an employee 10 to 15 minutes from other companies competing for the same job candidates. to complete the survey. The rules to enter are simple. In order to participate, the To ensure the credibility of the survey, organizations with DEPARTMENTS business must: 15-24 employees must have an 80 percent response rate or • Be a public or private company with a facility in the better on the employee survey. Those with 25 or more em- Calendar ...... 9 U.S. and/or Canada; ployees must have a response rate of at least 40 percent. Editorials ...... 8 • Have a minimum of 15 employees; Companies that meet BCG’s benchmarks are named a From the web ...... 9 • Be in business a minimum of one year; and Best Places to Work, while those not meeting the criteria Technical notebook ...... 12 • Derive at least 50 percent of revenue from elasto- are not named. A final ranking of those named Best Places Vol. 48, No. 17. March 25, 2019—Rubber & Plastics News mer-related operations, including thermoplastic elasto- to Work will be published. (ISSN 0300-6123) is published bi-weekly by Crain mers and polyurethanes. While participation is free, participating organizations Communications Inc. Periodical postage paid at Akron and at additional mailing offices. Address all subscription Eligibility is open to companies that make end rubber prod- can receive their Employee Feedback Report for as little as correspondence to: Circulation Department, Rubber & ucts, as well as suppliers or service providers in the rubber $720 detailing the company’s employee responses. The re- Plastics News, 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48207- industry. These can include: End rubber goods makers; suppli- port also includes employee engagement and employer 2912. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Rubber & Plastics News, Circulation Dept., 1155 Gratiot Ave., ers of materials chemicals and fillers used in rubber manufac- benefits industry benchmarks. Detroit, Mich. 48207-2912. turing; custom mixers; machinery and equipment makers; For more information or to register, call BCG at 717-909- mold and tooling makers; testing firms; suppliers of testing 1570 or visit www.rubbernews.com/bestplaces. 4 Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 www.rubbernews.com ARPM: 2018 a mixed year for rubber firms By Kyle Brown years, obviously 2017 was pretty strong. Rubber & Plastics News Staff Then, when I go back to ’15, ’16, when I More than 80 percent of rubber prod- compare those too, we’ve come a long uct manufacturers faced an increase in way.” raw materials pricing in 2018, more Backlog from the third quarter to the than double that did in 2017, according fourth in 2018 has remained the same to the Association for Rubber Products for 43 percent of respondents, up from 31 Manufacturers. percent for the same period in 2017. It The industry is facing “a strong head- increased for 30 percent in 2018, down wind right now” in terms of pricing for raw from 51 percent in 2017, and it decreased materials, Executive Director Troy Nix for 26 percent, up from 16 percent in the said in a webinar discussing the report. prior year. Fourth quarter performance showed a little bit of mixed returns for business momentum, Nix said. “When I take a look at what’s “Some of the economic indicators kind happened in the last four years, of contradict each other,” he said. “I’m not alarmed by anything, but on the obviously 2017 was pretty other hand, I’m not jumping out of my seat for joy relative to where we are as strong. Then, when I go back to an industry. It’s more of a wait and see.” ’15, ’16, when I compare those According to the report, 41 percent of respondents saw an increase in their too, we’ve come a long way.” sales in 2018’s fourth quarter, compared to its third quarter. More respondents Troy Nix saw a decrease at 31 percent than report- RPN photo by Chris Sweeney ed remaining the same at 27 percent. “If you go back 12 months when we “It’s obviously a good thing, anytime looked at this question … it showed that with 42 percent increased in 2016, up as 2015’s 24 percent. you see more increases than decreases backlog was actually increasing,” Nix from 25 percent in 2015. A total of 36 percent saw decreased when we’re comparing sales,” Nix said. said. “Backlog going into this year is not profitability in the quarter, up from 18 Digging deeper into the data, 57 per- as solid as we’d like to see it. There’s a 10 Raw materials percent last year, and 39 percent re- cent of the respondents serving the percent jump in those seeing a decreased For Q4 raw materials prices, 82 per- mained the same for the period, almost aerospace industry reported a strong backlog and a 21 percent drop in those cent of respondents saw an increase, the same as last year’s 38 percent. fourth quarter, Nix said. Another 37 seeing an increased backlog.” compared to 40 percent for the same pe- percent of those working in the automo- Looking at the production workweek riod in 2017. Going farther back, 21 Sales trends and market optimism tive industry saw a bump in Q4 sales. tells a different story, Nix said. As other percent saw increases in 2016, along Comparing current sales to last Looking back farther in Q4 versus Q3 economic indicators start to go in a neg- with 5 percent in 2015. year’s, 75 percent of respondents said sales, 2017 had the highest percent in- ative direction, workweeks have in- “I just took a step back and said ‘Wow.’ sales have increased, 18 percent said crease in the last four years, with 54 creased on trend since 2015. The Q4 Talk about a leap here,” said Nix. “I don’t they remained the same, and 7 percent percent reporting increases in sales production workweek in 2018 increased know what to say other than this is a se- reported a decrease. compared to 19 showing decreases. In for 52 percent of respondents, compared rious headwind going into profitability. A “If you plot these on our historic last 2016, 42 posted increases with 26 per- to 43 percent in the same period for 42-point jump, if you look 12 months ago.” four years to give you a better context, cent down, and in 2015 29 percent in- 2017. Both of those points are higher For 2018, 15 percent said prices re- we’ve strung a couple of very good years creased sales compared to 38 percent with than those showing an increase in 2016 mained about the same, compared to 58 together,” Nix said. declines. at 27 percent, and in 2015 at 18 percent. percent in 2017. No respondents in either The industry as a whole has been “When you put this in historic context, The Q4 production workweek re- 2018 or 2017 reported a decrease in slowly expanding in the last four years, we’re losing about 13 points, so I think mained about the same for 33 percent in pricing for raw materials for the period. Nix said, meaning being in a position that’s interesting,” Nix said. 2018, down from 46 percent in 2017. A total of 31 percent of respondents where sales have remained the same The cause of increased sales in 2018 Again, both of those numbers are lower seeing raw material price increases isn’t a bad position. Q4 was a new program or volume in- than earlier responses of 54 percent in passed the entire increase on to the cus- For anticipated sales going into the crease with current customers for 29 both 2015 and 2016. The workweek de- tomer. Another 22 percent passed be- first quarter of 2019, 57 percent of busi- percent of respondents, down from 38 creased for 14 percent in 2018, up from tween 50 and 99 percent of the price in- nesses expect an increase over the pre- percent of respondents in 2017. New cus- 10 percent in 2017. creases on, and no respondents passed vious year’s sales. This is down from 72 tomers made up 11 percent of increased “Maybe the reason that backlog went on 30 to 49 percent. A total of 28 percent percent expecting an increase from 2017 Q4 sales, also down from 17 percent last down was because we had to grow expan- sent 1 to 29 percent of rate increases going into 2018. A total of 33 percent year. New orders with existing projects sion of our workweek to meet customer de- through, while 20 percent absorbed the expect sales to remain about the same were 9 percent, compared to 14 percent mand,” Nix said. “So this is a good thing.” price increases fully. for 2019, up from 25 percent in last last year. Nix found that smaller companies of “It’s one thing to experience an in- year’s report. A total of 10 percent expect Shipments were up in the fourth quar- less than $5 million in annual sales crease, but what bothers me the most— a decrease in sales for Q1, also on the ter of 2018, compared to the third, with were more likely to say that the produc- we have organizations that actually are rise from 3 percent last year. 48 percent of respondents seeing in- tion workweek remained the same. able to pass off all the increases. But we “It’s below first quarter of 2017, but creases, compared to 23 percent with Companies of $15 million and more “ba- also have one-in-five of you who suck it’s not terrible,” Nix said, adding that decreases and 29 percent remaining the sically were adding more production those raw material increases down and 90 percent still expect increasing or same. Compared to the same period in hours to your work schedule,” he said. try to cover them with improvements in similar sales levels. 2017, 57 percent had reported increased Quoting activity in Q4 2018 increased your own organization,” Nix said. “Soon- Taking those anticipated sales out for shipments, with 12 percent showing a for 44 percent of respondents, down from er or later, if we continue to take these the next 12 months, 76 percent of re- decrease and 31 percent showing no 48 percent for the same time period in increases and not pass them along to the spondents expect 2019 sales to increase, change. Again, 2017 saw the greatest 2017. Almost the same amount, 43 per- customer for one reason or another, that compared to 81 percent in 2018. In 2016, increase in the category since 2015. cent, remained the same in 2018, up doesn’t bode well for business.” 77 percent predicted increased sales “When I examine performance rela- from 32 percent in 2017, and 13 percent Profitability for Q4 2018 compared to along with 57 percent in 2015. A total of tive to shipment … if I look at the Q4 saw a decrease in Q4, down from 20 Q3 showed 25 percent of businesses with 14 percent of respondents in 2019 expect versus Q3 of 2018, the data point looks percent in 2017. an increase for the period, down from 44 sales to remain about the same, and 10 pretty good,” Nix said. “When I take a For increasing quote activity, the percent in 2017. That’s also under 2016’s percent expect sales to decrease. look at what’s happened in the last four trend line going backward is more level, total of 31 percent, and about the same Looking toward which individual mar-

Source: Association of Rubber Products Manufacturers www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 5 kets are driving the optimism for those list of challenges for 2019, with 98 per- of time at work to be more attractive to a Nix said. “We know it’s not easy.” anticipated sales, 16 percent of respon- cent of respondents listing it as the most new generation of employees. The ARPM surveyed 83 industry ex- dents saw automotive as the most opti- important hurdle. Raw materials cost Respondents ranked automation as ecutives, including presidents, owners mistic market coming into 2019. Defense, and availability at 45 percent and politi- the factor making the largest impact on and CEOs, general managers and staff construction and energy tied for second cal environment/regulations at 29 per- the U.S. rubber products managers for its report. place at 11 percent each, and medical, cent round out the top three. industry at 39 percent, Company sizes ranges in- aerospace, agriculture and consumer Compared to previous years, work with new technologies in cluded 14 percent under goods took in 7 percent each in third. force development has been on the rise market served at 24 per- $5 million, 26 percent be- Automotive also tops the chart of the as a concern, Nix said. In 2016, 30 per- cent, and material science tween $5 million-$14.9 mil- least optimistic markets for 2019 at 24 cent of respondents listed it as a top and development at 22 lion, 36 percent between percent, with government taking second concern. That total rose to 73 percent in percent. Industry 4.0 and the Internet $15 million-$49.9 million and 24 percent at 13 percent and agriculture pulling 2017 and 86 percent in 2018. of Things landed at 9 percent, and 7 above $50 million. third at 10 percent. Construction comes “The interesting thing is that it’s our percent named additive manufacturing Predominate manufacturing process- next with 9 percent, then energy at 8 sentiment, based on all the data we’re and 3D printing. es included 29 percent manufacturers of percent, and environmental and mining receiving, that this isn’t going away,” Going into the new year, 23 percent of finished products other than molded, 24 at 5 percent each. Nix said. respondents list continuous improvement percent injection molding, 20 percent Nix said some of those top choices in Some ARPM members are engaging initiatives as their top plan to raise com- compression and 15 percent extrusion. the least optimistic markets overlap with local educators to invest in potential petitiveness in 2019. Automation came in Primary market segments included with sister industries in plastic and future workers for the manufacturing in- at 19 percent and new equipment and automotive at 56 percent, construction mold building. That’s especially inter- dustry, and some are using apprenticeship capabilities at 17 percent. at 37 percent, agriculture at 32 percent, esting as light vehicle sales are expected programs, Nix said. Another approach is “One in five of you are basically say- defense at 22 percent and energy at 21 to be under 17 million for the first time changing shifts to allow for shorter blocks ing we have to find ways to automate,” percent. in several years. Another angle is that autonomous and electric vehicles are beginning to take a sliver of the market from gasoline powered vehicles. “You might not be optimistic about au- tomotive because of who you’re supply- ing,” Nix said. “If you’re supplying GM right now, you’re probably not really happy about where things are going. But there are some other automotive compa- nies that are doing OK.” Businesses relocated more work back to the U.S. in 2018, with 37 percent bringing work back stateside, compared to 30 percent in 2017. Another 31 percent were not actively looking for off-shore suppliers in 2018, and 22 percent were moderately looking. Last year, 9 percent were aggressively looking for off-shore suppliers. “This is a great trend coming back our way,” Nix said. “If you look today at what’s going on in industry segments, when we look at plastics and rubber and reshoring initiatives, it’s very, very good for U.S. manufacturing.” The majority of respondents—55 per- cent—neither gained nor lost business to foreign suppliers in 2018. Another 26 percent gained business, 14 percent lost business and 4 percent lost business to customers relocating outside the U.S. Current company profits were rated as “acceptable” for 66 percent of respon- dents, weak by 19 percent and great by another 15 percent. In terms of production tooling, 80 percent of respondents purchase domes- tically, while 11 percent purchase from overseas and 9 percent are investigating the tactic. It’s better when companies are able to purchase domestically, but “we also understand that as an industry association, sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do in order to get the best pricing possible,” Nix said. Compared to last year’s report, pur- chasing domestic production tooling is up from 70 percent, while overseas pur- chasing is down from 24 percent. A 10-point jump in domestic production tooling purchases is a significant bump, possibly a result of tariffs put in place last year, Nix said.

Capital expenditures Investing in business will increase in 2019 for 55 percent of respondents, down from 60 percent in 2018 and 67 percent in 2017. Another 32 percent expect capi- tal expenditures to remain about the same, and 14 percent expect them to decrease in the upcoming year. The majority of that capital will be used on equipment repairs and upkeep for 31 percent of respondents, with pri- mary machines coming in second at 23 percent. Automation is third with 16 percent, structural and technology im- provements each have 13 percent, and auxiliary equipment takes 5 percent. Work force development, including employee training and hiring, tops the 6 Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 www.rubbernews.com

Lehigh making headway under Michelin ownership By Bruce Meyer tions. Thus far, the firm has focused on Rubber & Plastics News Staff getting the material used in the tire Despite the fact that Michelin has tread, but other external components owned Lehigh Technologies Inc. since such as the sidewall are candidates for October 2017, the majority of the other additional MRP usage, according to tire manufacturers remain comfortable Glenn Denstaedt, Lehigh technical di- doing business with the producer of mi- rector for tire and rubber. cronized rubber powders, according to a In addition, some tire makers are as- company executive. tute in using MRP in other components of “We sell to seven of the top 10 tire the tire, while other companies have yet customers in 18 countries and 45 tire to focus on those areas. “We’ve only start- plants around the world,” said Kedar ed to touch the depth and breadth of the Murphy, vice president and general market,” he said. “There’s a lot of growth manager of Tucker, Ga.-based Lehigh. potential with the tire companies that “There are more than 500 million tires may be using less or little MRP.” that have been made with our product. And as tire companies get more used We have relationships with all of these to the product and learn how to process people and we continue to get new rela- it, there will be opportunities to increase tionships with other tire companies.” the amounts of MRP used in the com- Murphy and other Lehigh officials dis- pound itself, Denstaedt said, noting that cussed the company’s ongoing business current applications range from 2 per- during the Tire Technology Expo 2019, cent of batch weight up to 10-12 percent. held March 5-7 in Hanover, Germany. Murphy said the technology is proven He said more than 90 percent of tire for usage at 3-5 percent, and if all or a manufacturers indicated there was no large percentage of tires just used that problem with Lehigh being owned by amount to achieve cost savings, the po- Michelin, which in the end boils down to tential for MRP is great. “The challenges the trust Lehigh has been able to gain of working with this industry is it’s very with its customers over the years. The slow and tedious trying to convince business still operates under the Lehigh RPN photos by Bruce Meyer somebody to try to do something differ- name and has only Lehigh employees in From left, Lehigh Technologies’ Kedar Murphy, Glenn Denstaedt and Josep Freix- ent,” he said. “We think with the acqui- its headquarters and factory in Tucker. as at the Tire Technology Expo, held March 5-7 in Hanover, Germany. sition by Michelin, things will start to “There’s never going to be 100 percent change and people will start to under- because there’s always going to be some- lin official presented on the use of MRP from the new plant first to customers stand they too can achieve cost savings body who just is not interested in doing in tire compounds and where they’re go- that had experience with the material in by using micronized rubber powder.” work with us,” he said. ing to deploy it. the U.S. or other parts of the world, said Other areas where Murphy said MRP The major characteristic that hasn’t “So they’re starting to talk more freely Josep Freixas, business development is being used include coatings, polyure- changed with the ownership, according and publicly about what we’re doing manager for Europe, the Middle East thane foam, micronized EPDM that goes to Murphy, is that Lehigh doesn’t share with them,” Murphy said. “The key pur- and Africa. back into thermoplastic vulcanizates customers’ technical information, either pose is to generate more interest from “Additionally there are companies in and rubber modified asphalt. with Michelin or about Michelin with other tire makers.” Europe that we started from scratch He said Lehigh has made inroads other tire makers. “All of us have experi- Other than that, he said Lehigh operates with,” he said. “Basically the drive is the with several states in getting its materi- ence in tires and the material industry,” with a fair bit of autonomy. “They have same: We have experience in the market. al approved for use in asphalt projects, he said. “So we know how to work with their own internal programs to use mi- I think this makes a difference because including Georgia, Florida, Louisiana customers and gain their trust.” cronized rubber product and we know we put a lot of effort in knowing and and Texas. One challenge in this market Michelin purchased Lehigh in 2017 about that because we have to be able to characterizing our material and knowing is that some states, such as Texas, don’t after the two companies had worked to- supply them,” he said. “So they have sever- how it works and behaves. That provides have just one Department of Transpor- gether for nearly a decade. The acquisi- al programs around the world for introduc- a significant difference between Lehigh tation to work through, but also a num- tion was aimed at Lehigh being an inte- tion of MRP over the next couple of years.” Technology and other people dealing with ber of sub-agencies. gral part of Michelin’s Sustainable Lehigh also has been shipping MRP these types of materials.” In the rubberized asphalt market, he Mobility Plan, in which it plans to have from the plant it opened in Spain in said Lehigh’s acquisition of a technology 80 percent sustainable materials in its June 2018 to support Michelin’s growth Strong upside called Rheopave has helped boost its tires and recycle 100 percent of its tires and to supply European-based tire com- Even with the inroads Lehigh along success. Rheopave allows customers to by 2048. panies, which had been supported in the with Michelin have made with MRP, use rubber powder in asphalt without “Michelin is not only using it today past from the U.S. operations. there is potential for much more busi- the MRP settling to the bottom, greatly but will expand the use of it going for- Lehigh started supplying product ness, both in tire and non-tire applica- enhancing its effectiveness. ward,” Murphy said. “They’re hoping the rest of the tire companies also will continue to use more into the future. ... This is one platform that Michelin is Industry gathers for expo in Germany looking at among several others to reach their target.” While Lehigh Technologies had been backed by venture capital investors from its inception through the acquisition, he said what Michelin brings to the micron- ized rubber producer is credibility that they are a global tire company supporting this technology. The parent company also brings improvements in best practices for processes and procedures in terms of manufacturing and quality. “What Michelin is taking away is they understand the speed at which Lehigh can work at,” Murphy said. “The entre- preneurial spirit lives on and the speed that we can drive new product introduc- tion and technology is something that Michelin is interested in. That’s why they haven’t completely integrated us.” Michelin also is talking a bit more in public, something he said has been driv- en by Lehigh. The tire maker presented a paper on the technology at last fall’s ACS Rubber Division meeting, and at this year’s Tire Technology event, Le- Rudi Hein receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the event Dagmar Fleschhut staffs the Zeppelin Systems high gave a paper on the general market for a 32-year career with BMW followed by 10 years at Bridgestone. booth at Tire Technology 2019 in Hanover, Germany. for sustainable material while a Miche- www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 7 Endurica forms partnership for adhesives research By Kyle Brown the company’s existing fatigue solvers, Rubber & Plastics News Staff Mars said. “Just like we compute durability FINDLAY, Ohio—Endurica L.L.C. is “Our angle on it is the commercializa- partnering with Michigan State Univer- tion path,” Mars said. “Once the research for a bushing or a tire, somebody sity and Robert Bosch L.L.C. to move is completed, we’re here to have some- research forward on durability testing thing to speak to the adhesives space. somewhere wants to calculate for adhesive bonds. Our current solutions really are not very Endurica, a provider of elastomer du- well geared for adhesives. We look at ‘When I drive down this bumpy rability and fatigue tests and software, this really as kind of part of our technol- will team up with Roozbeh Dargazany, ogy pipeline.” road, how long does this adhe- an assistant professor of civil engineer- Dargazany has done research on sim- ing at MSU, for the project, Endurica ilar durability modeling that Endurica’s sive bond last?’ The end goal is President Will Mars said. software is built on, and he and Mars Dargazany will be developing durabil- have known each other’s work for years, really to deliver a solution that will work ity evaluation methods for adhesive Mars said. joints during the three-year project. The “I think he recognized that the kinds for those as well.” models will be used to predict damage of things he wants to do are compatible accumulation in polymeric adhesives. in some ways with what we’re doing. So Will Mars Endurica will integrate the developed it was one of those things where it just database on corrosion and reliability be using that data to develop a product testing and simulation methods with kind of makes sense, it’s a natural ex- analysis of adhesive joints, according to that will be specialized for doing analy- tension of what we’re both doing,” Mars an Endurica news release. sis on adhesive bonds, Mars said. said. Dargazany and the Bosch representa- “Just like we compute durability for a The $1.5 million project is being joint- tives have proposed a new hybrid model- bushing or a tire, somebody somewhere ly funded by the U.S. Department of ing technique that could help engineers wants to calculate ‘When I drive down Energy through a 2018 Energy Efficien- monitor the specialized adhesives this bumpy road, how long does this ad- cy and Renewable Energy Award, Bosch throughout the corrosion process with hesive bond last?’ The end goal is really and Endurica. The department’s inter- water, heat and sunlight, according to to deliver a solution that will work for est is in supporting and encouraging the release. those as well,” Mars said. auto makers to continue lightweighting In the early stages of the process, En- A user would run a model and get vehicles, Mars said. durica will be participating in meetings stress and strain data, and Endurica “Adhesives are important, especially and providing feedback on the research, would provide information including in automotive,” Mars said. “There are a and making sure that what’s being de- how long the bond will last, failure mode lot of places where people are replacing veloped is moving in a direction that can and point of failure, he said. The same metal things with plastics and compos- be eventually turned into a product, technology being developed for this ites, where before, you could join metal Mars said. project should also have some applica- things with a weld. You can’t do that “First, our involvement is kind of ad- tion for rubber-to-metal adhesive bonds. with plastics. You’ve got to find some vice, then later on, it turns into coding “At the end of the day, our goal is to way to glue them together, and that’s and developing friendly ways for people have a collection of tools that people can where the adhesives come in.” to use it, the workflows that people use for looking at durability problems in A team from Robert Bosch GmbH and would need to take it and benefit from general,” he said. “The technology that Bosch U.S. will collaborate with Dar- it,” he said. we develop in this project should also ap- Dargazany gazany on the research to develop the The larger target for Endurica would ply to those kinds of problems as well.”

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Work still remains Vol. 48 No. 17 Brennan Lafferty, V.P./group publisher David E. Zielasko, Publisher, vice president (330-836-9180)

EDITORIAL STAFF for Goodyear to Bruce Meyer, Editor (330-865-6124) Chris Sweeney, News editor (330-865-6188) improve safety Miles D. Moore, Senior Washington reporter (703-256-9275) little more than two years have passed since the Vir- Erin Pustay Beaven, Online content editor (330-865-6106) ginia Department of Labor and Industry’s Occupa- Kyle Brown, Reporter tional Safety and Health program signed a joint set- (330-865-6115) A Michael McCrady, Art director tlement with Goodyear and the United Steelworkers to (330-865-6148) settle a whole array of violations stemming from four fatal corrective actions taken, resulting in the fatalities. John Dick, Technical editor accidents at the tire maker’s factory in Danville, Va. In responses to questions about the progress the com- ([email protected]) Goodyear agreed to pay a $1.75 million fine, with $1 mil- pany has made since the settlement, Goodyear’s senior di- Keith E. Crain, Editorial director lion of that going to Virginia and the remainder for Good- rector of global environmental health, safety and sustain- INTERNET year to use to abate the hazards VOSH found at the Dan- ability, said an in-depth review of its safety processes and Mark McCarron, Digital coordinator ville factory and also implement a new health and safety culture in early 2017 “revealed that we had not met our (330-865-6123) management program. The tire maker and the USW, own expectations for safety leadership in Danville.” SALES STAFF which represents hourly workers at the plant, also commit- Brent Weaver, Sales manager Since that time, it appears that a good amount of progress (330-865-6119) ted toward striving to qualify for the Virginia Voluntary has been made, though not without some bumps along the Peter McNeil, Display advertising sales repre- Protection Program, which would place the facility as a na- way. VOSH compliance teams have conducted four monitor- sentative (330-865-6109) tional leader in occupational safety and health. Brooke Stender, Classified advertising sales ing inspections, the first on April 4, 2017, and the most recent representative (330-865-6117) But when contacted to check on Goodyear’s progress, Aug. 20, 2018, which resulted in a pre-citation settlement Lori DiFrancesco, Sales and conference coordi- VOSH officials in a packet of information chronicling the agreement this past Jan. 28. The third inspection—conduct- nator (330-865-6121) actions taken since February 2017 rightfully started out Sarah Arnold, Marketing and events manager ed Sept. 19, 2017—identified a number of issues, nearly all (330-865-6169) by stating that it’s important to remember the four work- concerning lockout/tagout abatement. That resulted in a joint Patrick Cannon, Group sales director ers whose deaths in 2015 and 2016 were the catalysts for agreement calling for $185,000 in penalties, with Goodyear (313-446-1625) everything that has occurred since. able to use $100,000 of that to address identified hazards and RUBBER DIRECTORY & BUYERS GUIDE They told of Jeanie Lynne Strader, 56, who had been a to provide a training course focusing on lockout/tagout for a Sally Dietz, Assistant events manager/editorial lifelong resident of Pittsylvania County and was an accom- group of Danville employees, supervisors and managers. coordinator (330-865-6112) plished pianist and a church goer. Of Kevin Waid Edmonds, In the most recent inspection, though, VOSH officials 54, who loved living at the lake, his cats and his Harley said there was significant improvement in overall safety IT/PRODUCTION STAFF Scott Merryweather, Media services manager Davidson Motorcycles. And Charles Gregory Cooper, who at the Danville facility, and that it believed Goodyear “has Anthony DiPonio, Chief information officer had served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Coral Sea and acted in good faith during the abatement process.” In addi- AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT was an avid NASCAR fan. And finally of William Chris- tion, VOSH said the company has taken preliminary steps Jennifer Mosley, Group director/Audience devel- topher Scheier, 47, a devoted husband and baseball father for applying for Virginia STAR status. opment (312-649-5312) and mentor who seldom missed a game. For its part, Goodyear too said it is focused on what must EXECUTIVE OFFICES The allegations in the original VOSH citations showed a be the goal of all safety and health programs: “ensuring 1725 Merriman Road, Suite 300, Akron, Ohio pattern where hazardous conditions were ignored and no every associate goes home safe, every day.” 44313. Phone: 330-836-9180; Editorial fax, 330- 836-2831; Sales, administration fax: 330-836-1005

Diana Clance, Office coordinator VIEWPOINT (330-836-9180) EV fever: I just don’t get it

By Keith Crain headlong into a new and unproven market. Only time will Rubber & Plastics News is published bi-weekly by Crain Communications Inc. establish winners and losers, and let us hope that the mar- Subscriptions: U.S., one year $99; two years, he auto industry, with the help of some national gov- ketplace decides, not big governments. $178. Group rates, $79 each for five or more ernments around the world, is rapidly plunging into a The stakes are very high, and if a car company makes copies. Air mail and first class delivery to U.S., U.S. possessions, Mexico and Canada, $164; the Tmassive bet on vehicle electrification with little or no the wrong bet, it could go out of business or shrink. Middle East and Europe, $219; all other regions, consumer demand. The irony is that although a shift to EVs will require $293. For surface delivery to Canada, $138 (including GST); Mexico and all other foreign Now I can understand why China has a a large change in business practices, automobile retailers countries, $140. Single copy, $4.50. few hundred electric vehicle manufacturers, would seem to be in a position to survive intact. Rubber Directory & Buyers Guide, $89 per copy given that the Chinese government can de- It seems that many car companies are willing to bet the plus $6 for first class postage and handling in the U.S. and Canada. Four weeks’ notice required for cide to switch to EVs overnight and put all farm, so to speak, with their commitment to electrification, change of address. GST #136760444. gasoline-vehicle companies out of business happy to risk everything on a technology that consumers Printed in the U.S. For new subscriptions and change of address, in a flash. But it would appear that even have not yet supported in large numbers. I would think write: Audience Development Department, China will have to worry about having fos- that a more cautious approach would make more sense. Rubber & Plastics News, 1155 Gratiot Ave., sil-fueled vehicles for commercial shipping. Detroit, Mich. 48207-2912; call 1-877-320- I am surprised that more companies have not adopted a 1726 or e-mail customerservice-rpn@crain. Some national governments seem to be more moderate strategy. com for customer service. For subscription taking a more measured approach and are Maybe they know something that the rest of the world information and delivery concerns please email [email protected] or call 877-320- talking about eliminating gasoline-powered vehicles after a doesn’t. 1726 (in the U.S. and Canada) or 313-446-0450 decade or longer—certainly enough time to see how the public (all other locations) reacts to EVs. Reprints: Lauren Melesio, 212-210-0707; Crain is chairman of Crain Communications Inc., which e-mail, [email protected]. Meanwhile, many global manufacturers are rushing publishes Rubber & Plastics News. Website: http://www.rubbernews.com

CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC WEB POLL RESULTS QUOTE OF THE WEEK Keith E. Crain Mary Kay Crain Chairman Vice chairman “Sooner or later, if we continue to KC Crain Chris Crain President Senior executive take these increases and not pass vice president Lexie Crain them along to the customer for Armstrong Robert Recchia Secretary Chief financial officer one reason or another, that doesn’t G.D. Crain Jr. Gertrude R. Crain bode well for business.” Founder (1885-1973) Chairman (1911-1996) —ARPM Executive Director Troy Nix on significant raw material price increases in 2018. www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 9 From The Web Conti shuffles management team 70 at the site, which has been in operation since 1987. Jilin Jixing Tire Co. Ltd. subsidiary. It said acquiring Construction began in March and was commemorat- Hengyu Technology will help its expansion and capaci- HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G. has pro- ed with a groundbreaking ceremony on March 14. ty optimization and gain advantages in competition. moted Christian Koetz to lead its tire division as part Lord said the space will be used to add production for gap Dongying City, China-based Hengyu Technology— of a management restructuring. fillers, potting and encapsulants, and thermal adhesives also known as Headway Technology—is undergoing Nikolai Setzer, tire division head since mid-2011, will sold under its CoolTherm brand. The products fall under bankruptcy restructuring. As of mid-2018, Hengyu become the spokesman for the newly created automo- Lord’s Thermal Management business and are formulated Technology’s unaudited market value was listed as tive board while continuing to serve on the firm’s exec- to help reduce heat build-up in electronic components. Ac- $190 million, while the stockholders’ equity was pegged utive board, Conti said. cording to the company’s website, CoolTherm products can at negative $107 million. Koetz, who has led the commercial vehicle tires busi- be customized for epoxies, silicones, urethanes and acrylics, Hengyu Technology lists annual capacity of 650,000 ness unit since July 2018, will assume the three-year depending on performance needs and cost targets. truck and bus tires and 6 million passenger tires, along tenure for head of tire division and corporate purchas- with undisclosed capacities for engineering tires and ing as of April 1. He also will become a member of Transdigm completes Esterline deal military tires. Doublestar said the capacities at the Continental’s executive board, the company added. Dongying plant could be raised to 800,000 and 10 mil- He joined Continental’s tire division as a trainee in 1996. CLEVELAND—Transdigm Group Inc., a lion units, respectively, when a facility up- Later, he was responsible for key account management for maker of aerospace components and systems To keep up with the grade is completed. original equipment in North America, and then for re- for commercial and military aircraft, has daily pulse of the search and development. From 2011-18, he headed the completed its acquisition of Esterline Tech- industry, visit www. On the move passenger and light truck tires replacement business for nologies Corp., a supplier of products to the rubbernews.com. Europe, the Middle East and Africa before taking the top global aerospace and defense industry. Apollo Tyres Ltd.—Named Pedro Matos position at the commercial vehicle tires business unit. Shareholders of Bellevue, Wash.-based Es- to lead the firm’s original equipment strat- The firm also extended Setzer’s position on the executive terline will receive $122.50 per share in cash, without inter- egy and sales for passenger car tires in Europe. He board until March 2024. In his role as the spokesman for the est, according to terms of the merger agreement. The deal is currently serves as chief quality and business excel- automotive board, Setzer will be in charge of “maintaining a valued at about $4 billion, including the assumption of debt. lence officer. unified business strategy” in this area. The $122.50 per share price represented a 38 percent Beaver Manufacturing Co. Inc.—Promoted Mark His team will be complemented with a chief technol- premium to Esterline’s closing price of $88.79 per share Eagle to the position of global sales manager. ogy officer as of 2020, to advance automotive develop- Oct. 9, the day before the deal was made public. Ester- Davis-Standard L.L.C.—Named Jay Totten its re- ment activities. line posted revenue of $2 billion for fiscal year 2018 gional account manager for converting systems, extru- while TransDigm reported sales of $3.81 billion, up 8.8 sion and liquid coating for the Midwest region. Lord to expand in Germany percent from 2017. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies—Appointed Mat- thew Chapman its new president of sales and market- HUECKELHOVEN, Germany—Lord Corp. plans to Doublestar to buy Chinese tire maker ing for its automotive business, effective May 1. He re- expand operations at its facility in Hueckelhoven in places Rainer Joest, who is retiring after a four-decade response to what it sees as a fast-growing electric vehi- QINGDAO, China—Qingdao Doublestar Group plans career with the company. cle market. to acquire financially distressed Chinese tire maker Hexpol A.B.—Karin Gunnarsson, chief financial The firm will invest about $15.8 million to build a Shandong Hengyu Technology Group, a diversified pro- officer and investor relations manager, will step down 35,000-sq.-ft. addition adjacent to the current facility. ducer of passenger, truck/bus and industrial tires. later in 2019 to seek new challenges outside the compa- The project will create more than 20 jobs and is expect- Doublestar, the majority owner of South Korea’s ny, according to the firm. No specific timetable for her ed to be operating by mid-2020. Lord currently employs Kumho Tire Co. Inc., is pursuing the deal through its departure was disclosed. Calendar

ta Resort, Hilton Head, S.C. (Nan Johnston, 864-656- Rubber groups 2200; [email protected]) Blue Ridge Rubber Group: Spring technical meet- IN COMING WEEKS ing, May 16, Olde Beau, Roaring Gap, N.C. (Tony Wil- Healthcare Elastomer Conference: Inaugural event liams, 302-562-1608, [email protected]; focusing on new technologies, trends and ideas in elasto- www.rubber.org/blue-ridge-rubber-group) mers for the health care industry, May 21-22, Renais- New England Rubber Group: Spring Adhesive and Sealant Council: Annu- sance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, Schaum- Bourbon Trail Elastomer Group: Spring technical burg, Ill., organized by Rubber & Plastics News. technical meeting ...... April 2 al Spring Convention ...... April 8 meeting, April 16, Hilton Garden Inn Louisville Northeast, ([email protected]; www.rubbernews.com/conferences) Louisville, Ky. (www.bourbontrailelastomergroup.org) iLearn Innovation Institute: A division of Ace Products NAHAD: 35th annual convention, Las Clemson Tire Conference: Focus on Chicago Rubber Group: Spring technical meeting, & Consulting L.L.C., all courses held at Ace Products in Vegas ...... April 5 tire industry issues ...... April 10 May 13, Hawk’s View Golf Club, Lake Geneva, Wis. Ravenna, Ohio; Introduction to lean manufacturing, Six (www.chicagorubbergroup.org) Sigma & continuous improvement, April 8-10; Today’s ISO standards: What can they do for you?; April 11; Funda- Detroit Rubber Group: Spring technical luncheon mentals of rubber technology, April 30. (Christie Robinson, and board meeting, May 8, venue TBD. (Jim Eddy 330-577-4088, [email protected]) [email protected]; www.rubber.org) ITEC in Focus: Green Tire: Biennial event spot- Energy Polymer Group: Spring technical meeting, lighting green tires and their impact on the tire indus- May 16, Arlington Hilton, Arlington, Texas. (www.en- try, Sept. 25-26, Sheraton Suites, Cuyahoga Falls, ergypolymergroup.org) Ohio, organized by Rubber & Plastics News. (bweaver@ crain.com; www.rubbernews.com/conferences) Fort Wayne Rubber & Plastics Group: Technical TOUGH QUESTIONS, SPECIAL meetings, April 11, June 13, Sept. 12 and Dec. 5, Ceru- International Rubber Journey 2019: Rubber indus- ti’s, Fort Wayne, Ind. (www.fwrpg.org) try gathering in Mexico, organized by Lord Corp., May 21-23, Hotel Hacienda Jurica, Queretaro, Mexico. APPLICATIONS, TIGHT DEADLINES? Los Angeles Rubber Group: Golf tournament, April (www.internationalrubberjourney.com) 1, Goose Creek Golf Club, Mira Loma, Calif.; TIPS meeting and dinner, April 2, Knott’s Berry Farm, UTECH Las Americas: Trade show, conference on Buena Park, Calif. (www.tlargi.org) polyurethanes, April 10-12, Cento Banamex, Mexico CALL RENKERT OIL. City. (www.utechlasamericas.com) Mexico Rubber Group: Courses on April 11, June 6, July 25, Aug. 29, Oct. 17 and Nov. 21, Rubber Chamber Trade/technical associations Auditorium. (52-55-55666199; 52-55-55352266; Francis- Count on expert consulting, creative co Martha [email protected]; Miguel Bernal cnih@ ACS Rubber Division: 195th Technical Meeting, prodigy.net.mx) April 30-May 2, Holiday Inn Independence (Cleveland), solutions and quality oils o ered at Independence, Ohio. (330-595-5531; www.rubber.org) competitive prices. Plus, our multiple Michigan Rubber Group: Golf outing, May 30, For- est Akers, East Lansing, Mich. (Keith Korthals, 989- Adhesive and Sealant Council: ASC annual Spring terminals translate to quick delivery. 435-7400, [email protected], www.michi- Convention & Expo, April 8-10, Philadelphia Marriott, ganrubbergroup.com) Philadelphia. (www.ascouncil.org) Why choose oils from Renkert? Mid-Atlantic Rubber & Plastics Group: Spring Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries: Annual technical meeting, May 16, AGC, Exton, Pa. (Bruce convention and exposition, April 6-11, Los Angeles ✓ Clear, water white process oils with Rhoades [email protected]; www.marpg.org) Convention Center, Los Angeles. (www.isri.org) viscosities up to 1500 SUS @ 100F New England Rubber Group: Spring technical International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Pro- ✓ Excellent compatibility with meeting, April 2, TBD, central Massachusetts area. ducers: 59th Annual General Meeting, May 13-16, (www.nerpg.com) Renaissance Seattle Hotel, Seattle. (www.iisrp.com) rubber polymers

Ohio Rubber Group: Spring technical meeting, April NAHAD: 35th annual convention, April 5-10, The ✓ Low volatility 9, Hilton Garden Inn, Twinsburg, Ohio; Golf Outing, Bellagio, Las Vegas. (www.nahad.org) June 18, Yankee Run Golf Course, Brookfield, Ohio. ✓ Low UVs (www.ohiorubbergroup.org) Polyurethane Manufacturers Association: Annu- al meeting, May 5-7, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas. (www. Ontario Rubber Group: Spring technical meeting, pmahome.org) April 16, Mississauga Grand Banquet Hall, Mississau- Contact us today for an expert assessment of your oil application. ga, Ontario. (Kathy Lambrinos, 519-851-3711, kand- Rubber Roller Group: Annual meeting, May 5-7, [email protected] (www.ontariorubbergroup.org) Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Cincinnati. 1 (800) 423-6457 www.RenkertOil.com (www.rubberrollergroup.com) Seminars/conferences Thermoset Resin Formulators Association: Annu- Clemson Tire Conference: Annual event discussing al meeting, April 7-10, MMarriott Charleston, Charles- Authorized distributor for Chevron Process Oils issues impacting the tire industry, April 10-12, Sones- ton, S.C. (www.trfa.org) 10 Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 www.rubbernews.com SPECIAL REPORT Oil & Gas MTE Engineered Materials looks to add factory By Bruce Meyer Rubber & Plastics News Staff FRANKLIN, La.—A three-year old joint venture focused on supplying com- plete elastomeric subsea high-tempera- ture thermal insulation systems is planning to build a new factory to enable it to supply a major upcoming project. MTE Engineered Materials L.L.C. is a joint venture between the owners of Franklin-based Mark Tool & Rubber Co. Inc. and Elite Elastomers Inc., located in Ripley, Miss. It was formed in 2016 to conduct research, development and end- use application for the thermal insulation systems, which can install the rubber in- sulation on pipes used in oil drilling oper- ations in any of the three main methods: S-Lay (horizontal), J-Lay (vertical) and Reel-Lay, according to the company. The name MTE represents the com- bined strengths of both Mark Tool and Elite Elastomers, said Jerome Hebert, who is chief operating officer of Mark Tool and managing director of the joint ven- ture. The JV builds on Elite Elastomers’ MTE Engineered Materials is involved in subsea thermal pipe insulation projects, rubber material research and develop- like this one from 2018. ment innovations and Mark Tool’s appli- costs to compete with other products on and Sarah Lehman is director of busi- cation and manufacturing technology. the market. ness development. Mark Tool and Elite had worked to- Hebert said he and Elite Elastomers gether for about 15 years, with Elite President Steve Glidewell decided to Right timing Steve Glidewell (left) and Jerome Hebert serving as the sole material supplier for form the joint venture to combine their So far the joint venture has done a few at the MTE Engineered Materials booth at Mark Tool’s rubber compounds, Hebert strengths from the material develop- smaller projects, but has its sights set on the Subsea Tieback Forum & Exhibition. said. Mark Tool is a maker of custom ment standpoint to the application of the some larger projects coming up in the rubber products and extruder of elasto- material onto the pipe. next five years. Jerome Hebert said it’s a pipe insulation. Hebert said the Thermo- mer materials mainly used in pipe coat- Glidewell said putting the two groups long developmental process getting the Tron materials have been approved follow- ings. “We just had a really good relation- together created the complete package products developed, tested and approved ing a rigorous testing process that simu- ship with Elite,” he said. “Any new the customer needed. “We basically by the oil companies. lated the conditions the elastomer products we need developed we go to them worked together on the first phase of the The new projects, however, won’t be- materials must operate in. That included and they develop the products for us.” project and it just seemed natural, and it gin oil field operations for several years, doing life expectancy tests, done by an in- And that’s basically how the MTE actually helped the customer being able so Hebert said now is the time to put up dependent consultant, that judged the Engineered Materials joint venture be- to work through one company that way,” a factory just for the MTE Engineered components will far exceed the needed gan. The two firms had worked on a big he said. Materials joint venture. The parties are lifespan specified by the customer. project for one of the major oil companies MTE currently operates out of the working on site selection, projecting it “The material itself is designed to last in the Gulf of Mexico, Hebert said, de- Mark Tool facility in Franklin, with likely will end up within a 30-40 mile 30-plus years in a subsea environment clining to name the customer. That was only the management team listed as radius of the Mark Tool operation in at 340°F operating temperature,” He- in 2015, and out of that came another staff. Besides Hebert, his wife, Shree Franklin. bert said. “The pipe’s hot and the water’s project with the same oil company, this Hebert, serves as financial manager; Hebert projects the JV will have to cold, and then you’re in salt water. Plus one of bigger size and for larger volume. Glidewell is technical director; his wife, invest between $10 million and $15 mil- you have hydrostatic pressure that is But the companies needed to bring down Ginger Glidewell, is technical adviser; lion to build and equip a plant to meet probably 4,500 pounds at 10,000 feet of its needs. It likely will be about 35,000 water depth.” square feet and house such equipment MTE plans to have the site selected by as the firm’s proprietary extrusion pro- the end of this year, he said, and have it cess, pipe preparation equipment and a operating in the fourth quarter of 2020. large autoclave, expected to be about 85 The first of the expected projects are ex- HOSES PERFORM feet long and have a 9-foot diameter. pected to start up sometime in 2021 or with DeWAL Precision UHMW and PTFE Film. Initial employees will come from both early in 2022. He added that the first four Mark Tool and Elite Elastomers. projects are forecast to have oil flowing Chemically inert and abrasion resistant, DeWAL UHMW skived films line and cover elastomeric “The way these projects work is you sometime in the 2022-24 time frame. and convoluted hoses, belts and profiles. maybe will do only one or two a year,” Mark Tool and Elite Engineering work- Hebert said. “They’re really big. The ing together on the JV really has been an Virgin or modified, DeWAL PTFE films are unsurpassed for high temperature linings. first project we’re looking at is about 12 excellent fit. “When the idea kind of Both DeWAL UHMW and PTFE films are bondable, durable and dimensionably stable. miles of pipe. It will take us three to four popped up it was a no-brainer,” Hebert months to run that project. Behind that, said. “We both were thinking the same For quality films and dependable service, call DeWAL. there are four more potential projects thing and we didn’t have to put a whole lot Thickness Width PTFE rating we’re looking at.” of thought into it. We were always trying 0.002" to 0.020" up to 5' 500°F After that, MTE will go to other oil to figure out a way to work together in 0.05mm to 0.5mm up to 1.5m 260°C companies and hopefully grow from something that had a lot of potential for there, he said. both parties. When this opportunity came MTE designed and developed two insu- up it was just a natural fit.” lation systems—ThermoTron 350 and Glidewell said the combination works ThermoTron XT—that it said are me- well, with Elite responsible for material chanically robust, flexible, high-tempera- design and development, and Mark Tool ture elastomeric compounds that are ap- serving as the applicator and the field plied to pipe exterior, jumpers and other sales representative, with its history ISO 9001:2008 components using a proprietary extrusion dating back to 1954 in the oil and gas process. The insulation systems consist of business. three layers, a corrosion resistant layer, a As for conditions in the oil business in bonding agent one, and the high-tempera- general, Hebert said it’s still slow in re- ture, high-density elastomeric layer. bounding from the deep dip in the sector Company officials claim ThermoTron several years back. “A lot of things are XT is the only elastomeric insulating looking up,” he said. “Bids are starting material on the market that can operate to come in finally. We’re starting to see a at continuous temperatures above 350°F little more action but not quick enough. and be used in all three of the main Everybody in the oil field business is DeWAL • 15 Ray Trainor Drive • Narragansett, RI 02882 drilling operations. saying it will be the end of 2020 before it www.dewal.com • [email protected] • 800-366-8356 (International: 001-401-789-9736) All the upcoming projects involve subsea really kicks off.” www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 11 SPECIAL REPORT Oil & Gas

Trelleborg earns certification

for fireproofing tiles Trelleborg currently offers four different types of Vikodeck tiles to the market.

Trelleborg said its lighter Vikodeck material allows end users to reduce the overall cost of the platform over the life of the asset.

By Jennifer Karpus-Romain tested and qualified to specific fire rat- Rubber & Plastics News Correspondent ings, he said. TRELLEBORG, Sweden—Trelleborg The four tiles developed address the A.B.’s Offshore unit received DNV-GL majority of industries requirements, Marti type certification for Vikodeck HF, its said, and make it a good fit for a large hydrocarbon fireproofing tiles. variety of applications. There are currently four different types “We went through a lengthy market of Vikodeck tiles on the market, including analysis and determined that all appli- Vikodeck JF (jet fuel), Vikodeck S (hang cations do not require the same protec- fire applications) and Vikodeck L (lay- tion based on where and how it is being down areas). used,” he added. “The Vikodeck HF is the version that “In order to control cost and with a is covered under the DNV-GL type certi- focus on ease of doing business, we saw fication,” said Doug Marti, sales manag- it was important to offer a more tailored er at Trelleborg Offshore. solution that could be of use to custom- “The Jet Fire version has been tested ers for more applications in additional and qualified using markets outside of oil and gas. This has our in-house testing resulted in a standardized portfolio for facility on a case-by- this product.” case basis, the S ver- sion has been quali- Compounding capabilities fied through the end Trelleborg’s offshore operation based users and there real- in Norway has capabilities to formulate A steel pipe coated with Trelleborg’s Firestop is exposed to a jet-fire test in accor- ly is no requirement the firm’s own rubber materials for all dance with the certificate demands. for certification of its products. the L version.” “We have an in-house technology team Trelleborg manu- working in a high-tech lab that has both factures its fireproof- Marti the experience and technology to formu- ing tiles using its late specific rubber compounds as need- Firestop material. The tiles allow for a ed,” Marti said. quick and easy installation of the materi- All four tiles can be tailor-made to als on platforms, Marti said. Additionally, suit any customer-specific need. the tiles provide a layer of corrosion protec- “Trelleborg is continuously improving tion that will take severe impact, protect the technology and incorporating the against abrasion and can easily be replaced upgraded material into existing prod- as compared to alternative options. ucts to meet the evolving demands of the “Our lighter Vikodeck material allows industry,” he added. more end users to reduce the overall cost “The new formulation of the material of the platform over the life of the asset,” allows for better and lower cost manu- Marti said. “The lighter weight also facturing processes.” makes it easier to handle and install.” Rubber is a fantastic material with For most offshore structures, the properties Trelleborg knows how to fine- weight of the finished platform is a con- tune, Marti said, such as flexibility, ab- sideration. This could lead to the use of sorption of mechanical impact and noise, other alternative solutions, Marti said, weather resistance and durability. but they are easily damaged, offer no “We develop the formulations, produce impact protection and require constant the raw rubber materials and make the maintenance to ensure the PFP capabil- end product all within our Norway oper- ities while also controlling corrosion of ation,” he said. Trelleborg’s Firestop has been tested and qualified at the firm’s testing facility. the underlying deck areas. “We have a long track record from all around the world,” Marti said. “The fact Testing. Development. Problem Solving. that the materials are now lighter, and Testing and Compounding Experts for Your Critical Downhole Application Needs type approved is really seen as a wel- come advantage. All the feedback has Now Offering 24 Hour RGD Material been very positive.” Rubber. Plastic. Latex. Screening Tests in Sweet Gas (CH4) Industries served • RGD Testing: ISO, NORSOK, API and NACE With the DNV-GL type approval, as • Aging: Sweet (CH4) and Sour (H2S or CO2) well as the development of the lighter, • High Temperature/High Pressure Aging more durable materials, Marti said “the • Material Development for Oil & Gas Applications use of Vikodeck for oil and gas is being • Reverse Engineering/Formula Reconstruction • Physical Testing and Chemical Analysis expanded to additional areas of platforms (DSC, FTIR, TGA, TMA, DMA and GC/MS) where weight is a consideration, vertical • Abrasion and Adhesion Testing installation on walls and other industries, Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, Inc. • Failure Analysis such as marine and construction.” Visit www.ardl.com for our wide range of problem-solving capabilities. • FEA Support Testing and Modeling Prior to having the certification, each Toll Free (866) 780-ARDL • Worldwide (330) 794-6600 • Performance Testing project and application needed to be Contact Us Today at [email protected] 12 Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 www.rubbernews.com Technical Effects on seals of varying fuel compositions By Tanja Claus, Jasmin Menzel and Boris Traber Freudenberg Sealing Technologies GmbH Executive summary The authors The dilution of various base fuels with Because of the need for new fuels with a lower environmental impact—may it mostly polar, oxygen-containing energy be either lowering the carbon dioxide, general greenhouse gas, NOx or particle carriers (so-called oxygenates such as emissions—the worldwide landscape of fuel compositions is changing drastically. OME, DME, methanol or ethanol) re- While in Central Europe a specified fuel is predominant, the constitution of sults in a vast variety of component fuels might tend to vary more in most other countries. Especially in China, new compositions, which might cause tre- fuel types like oxymethyl-ene ethers (OME), biodiesel or dimethyl ether (DME) mendous consequences for the sealing are already commonly applied.1 system in a combustion engine vapor Researchers at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies have reviewed the impact of circulation. those compositions on the seal materials and the seals themselves. A variety of different components such as ethanol, methanol, soy methyl ester sen to be tested versus the above-men- content 66 weight percent F) to FKM 4 Traber Claus (SME, a component of biodiesel) and the tioned fluids. (highest fluorine content, 70 weight emerging OMEs have been tested versus percent F), an effect also known as “flu- Boris Traber is typical sealing materials with respect to FKM in different fuel mixtures orine shielding” (the higher the fluorine in charge of the their impact on selected properties like Swelling in flex fuels content, the better the media resis- global advanced ma- swelling behavior (∆V) or the change of In a first immersion study, FKM ma- tance.)3 terial development elongation at break values (∆EaB). terials with different fluorine content Furthermore, for all tested materials within the Materi- In general, the optimal sealing func- (66-70 weight percent) were tested with a swelling maximum is observed in E22 al Technology unit tion is achieved if the sealing material the first generation of so-called flex with volume gains of 25-30 percent. In- of Freu denberg Seal- provides the opposite polarity to the fuels. These flex fuels consist of mixtures terestingly, the smallest volume change ing Technologies of standard gasoline with varying etha- is measured for all materials when im- GmbH & Co. K.G. TECHNICAL NOTEBOOK nol or methanol concentrations. mersed in pure ethanol (E100). He studied Chem- Edited by John Dick The test program started with the Afterwards, FKM materials with istry at the Universi- Menzel synthetic test fuel FAM A (50 percent varying fluorine content (FKM 5-8) ty of Heidelberg and fluid (as indicated by the purple arrows volume, toluene, 30 percent isooctane, 15 were submerged in flex fuels with in- finished his doctorate in organic chem- in Fig. 1). This typically causes low percent diisobutylene, 5 percent ethanol) creasing methanol content (MeOH). As istry there in 2003. swelling and a small change of the ma- to which additional amounts of ethanol base medium, the non-polar, synthetic Traber started his career as mate- terial’s properties. If high swelling oc- were admixed, so that 22 percent volume test fuel Fuel C (50 percent volume rial developer for elastomers at curs, it can lead to the deterioration of and 85 percent volume were achieved. isooctane and 50 percent toluene) was Freudenberg R&S Services SE, and the sealing material. Hence, the knowl- This corresponds to E22 and E85. chosen and subsequently blended with changed in 2008 to the sealing busi- edge of the polarity of the sealed medium In addition, 100 percent volume was methanol volume percentages of 5, 15, ness division where he is responsible is crucial. tested, which corresponds to E100. For 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent. for the material pre-development as However, there is an exception to this the first FKM material (FKM 1, 66 In this evaluation, the attention was well as the trend analysis for new “opposite polarity” concept known today. weight percent fluorine), an additional laid not only on the increasing fluorine material development topics. He FKM-based materials neither mix with immersion was conducted in a standard- content of the substances, but also on also is in steady contact and ex- oils nor water because of the strong ized, synthetic test fuel, FAM A (50 per- the crosslinking system applied during change with the global material de- shielding effect of the fluorine atoms on cent volume toluene, 30 percent isooc- synthesis of the rubber materials. All velopment teams in the U.S. and the carbon-based main chain.2 There- tane, 15 percent diisobutylene, 5 percent materials, except FKM 5, were cross- Japan within the business division. fore, with alternative and constantly ethanol), for a better comparison. linked via a peroxide-based mechanism, Tanja Claus studied pure chemis- varying fuel mixtures containing both The results for the volume change of whereas FKM 5 was crosslinked em- try at the Karlsruhe Institute of polar and non-polar fluids, FKM ap- the FKM samples after immersion in ploying bisphenols. The obtained results Technology and earned her doctor- pears to be the only appropriate choice the flex fuel media for 168 hours at 60°C are shown in Fig. 3. ate in polymer chemistry there in of sealing material. In the present study, are depicted in Fig. 2. It is evident that The overall observed swelling levels of 2017. Claus works on Traber’s ad- different FKM-based sealing materials the overall swelling (∆V in percent) for the materials in the methanol blends is vanced material development team with various compositions regarding all media decreases with an increasing much higher compared to the results as a material developer for elasto- co-monomers, polymer architectures, fluorine content of the material from obtained for the ethanol blends. Howev- meric sealing products. and the fluorine content were thus cho- FKM 1 (material with lowest fluorine er, the immersion time in this case was Jasmin Menzel manages the de- 1,008 hours instead of 168 hours. Fur- velopment of materials test method- Fig. 1: Schematic polarity scale with different fuel components and sealing mate- thermore, the swelling maxima for most ologies for Freudenberg Technology rials employed for automotive/transportation applications. The purple arrows indi- materials can be found at higher metha- Innovation SE & Co. K.G., in Ger- cate appropriate fluid/sealing material combinations. nol levels (at 75 percent volume MeOH many. She earned a graduate degree for FKM 5-7), when compared to the in polymer and colloidal chemistry ethanol results, where the swelling from Universitat Bayreuth in Ger- maxima could be detected at an ethanol many and her doctorate in polymer content of about 22 percent volume. chemistry from the University of For the material with the highest flu- Warwick in the United Kingdom. orine content (FKM 8, 71 weight percent Menzel joined Freudenberg Seal- F), however, the maximum volume change ing Technologies in 2012 as a mate- was determined at an MeOH content of 15 rials development project manager. percent volume. It also is evidenced again Fig. 3: Volume change ∆V of different FKM materials (FKM 5-8) with varying fluorine content and two crosslinking systems after immersion in mixtures of a non-polar base liquid, Fuel C and increasing amounts of methanol.

Fig. 2: Volume change ∆V of different FKM materials (FKM 1-4) with varying fluo- rine content after immersion in a standardized test fuel (FAM A) and flex fuels with varying ethanol fractions (E22, E85, E100) for 168 h at 60ºC. www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 13 Technical that the lowest swelling values (about 20 for a measurement of the amount of understood as a kind of “door opening ferent sealing materials (FKM 9-13, percent ∆V) are obtained for the material permeated substance in correlation with effect.” Small, highly polar molecules, NBR and HNBR) in pure SME. sample FKM 8, which comprises the time while the temperature was kept like methanol or ethanol, can alter the The obtained results show the out- highest fluorine content (71 weight per- constant at 23°C. As permeation medi- architecture of the polymer network af- standing performances of FKM-based cent F). um, first pure Fuel B (70 percent volume ter their initial permeation, therefore compounds compared to NBR or HN- Also the difference in swelling values isooctane and 30 percent toluene) was opening a route through the material for BR-based materials (Fig. 7). While the between bisphenolic and peroxidic mate- subjected to the test chamber and a test other, non-polar molecules. maximum volume change for FKM ma- rials is noteworthy. Although FKM 5 slab of an FKM elastomer was mounted terials at 100°C was about 5 percent, the has a higher fluorine content (66 weight between the permeation medium and Diesel and diesel alternatives values for an NBR compound with a percent F) than FKM 6 (64 weight per- the flow channel. Biodiesel high ACN content (39 percent) and an cent F), the overall detected volume After a runtime of 237.24 minutes, 5 Another highly interesting fuel class HNBR compound with a low ACN con- changes in all media mixtures are higher milliliters of methanol were added to the derived from renewable resources is tent (19 percent) were 14 percent and 26 for FKM 5 (bisphenolic cure system) permeation medium chamber. The ob- biodiesel. Biodiesel typically consists of percent, respectively. than for FKM 6 (peroxide-based curing tained results are depicted in Fig. 5. a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters, At 125°C, the overall volume change system). During the first measurement period such as soy methyl ester (SME), (Fig. 6) increases significantly because of the (Fig. 5a), where the FKM slab was only bearing a non-polar double bond and a formation of small molecular degrada- Change in permeability subjected to the pure Fuel B, only argon polar ester group. Both functional moi- tion products. However, swelling level So far, only the volume change of the was detected in the mass spectrometer eties are susceptible to thermal degra- values do not exceed 10 percent for FKM materials was examined. Another import- as well as constant, very low ion currents dation starting at approximately 125°C, compounds. ant feature for the sealing ability, howev- for toluene, isooctane and methanol. leading to degradation products such as Another critical factor for a sealing er, is the permeation of a medium through The respective ion currents remained free fatty acids, aldehydes, hydro perox- material that has been exposed to an the sealing material. Therefore, a perme- on the same low level until approximate- ides, formic acid or methanol.5 aggressive medium is the change in the ation test with a custom-build test setup ly 50 minutes after the methanol injec- Although both moieties, the methoxy elongation at break value (∆EaB). This as depicted in Fig. 4 was carried out. tion. Subsequently, after approximately group of the ester functionality as well was investigated for two more FKM The custom-build setup consisted of a 290 minutes of measuring time, the ion as the carbon-carbon double bond decay, materials after immersion in SMEs over permeation medium chamber that was current corresponding to methanol ions only the decomposition of the methoxy different periods of time at 140°C. sealed with an elastomeric test slab started to rise, i.e. methanol permeated group leads to substances considered Generally, a loss of elongation at break versus a flow channel. Inside the flow through the FKM test specimen. After critical for typical sealing materials of about 50 percent is considered a criti- channel, a constant argon stream was some time, the permeation behavior of (e.g., aldehydes, hydro peroxides, formic cal change for sealing materials. Fig. 8 applied as carrier gas directly leading to the non-polar substances in Fuel B acid or methanol). clearly shows that for the first material a mass spectrometer, where an online changed as well, and they were now also Of all fatty acid methyl esters deriva- tested (FKM 14) critical values with a analysis of the gas stream composition able to pass through the FKM test spec- tives present in biodiesels, SMEs repre- loss of elongation at break of more than was performed.4 imen (Fig. 5b). sent the most aggressive ones; they are 50 percent were only reached after more Therefore, the depicted setup allowed This increase in permeability can be the so-called “worst case.” Therefore, the than 1,000 hours of immersion. Howev- immersion studies for 1,000 hours were er, the second and improved material Fig. 4: Schematic drawing of a custom-build permeation test setup for evaluation conducted at 100°C and 125°C with dif- See Fuel, page 14 of permeation behavior of a test specimen. Chemists' Nightmare Dream

Wear Fig. 5: Permeation test results with Fuel B + methanol versus an FKM elastomer test slab at 23ºC. The ion current of the mass spectrometer versus time is plotted. Graph Tear a) depicts the permeation results for pure Fuel B. After 237.24 min, 5 ml of methanol were added as indicated by the blue arrow. The resulting change in the ion current of Temperature the mass spectrometer (i.e. a change in permeation behavior) can be seen in graph b). Chemical Compatibility Environment Production Processes

Reliability

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seems negligible. Similar results are bon black particles and significantly re- OME-mix (OME 3-5, acquired from ASG 6 obtained when the change in elongation duced NOx emissions. Analytic Service GmbH) was chosen. Fuel at break is examined for the same mate- Combined with the possibility to synthe- According to VDA 266-100, the FKM rials (Fig. 10). size OME in a CO2 neutral way, employing materials were immersed for either 168 Continued from page 13 Only very small changes at a maxi- renewable energy and biomass in a kind of hours or 1,008 hours at 100°C in the fuel (FKM 15) still performed well even after mum of ±10-15 percent were measured Fischer-Tropsch process,7 those features derived mixtures and for the same time an immersion time of 1,500 hours. for both the short-term (168 hours) and led to the consideration of OME derivatives periods at 125°C in the diesel-based It can be concluded from the biodiesel the long-term (1,008 hours) testing. In as diesel substitutes or admixtures. mixtures. immersion tests that at temperatures order to gain even more insight into the However, as these are small polar mol- below 125°C, at which the fuel itself does changes in material properties, the ac- ecules, their effects on sealing materials Addition of polar DMM to non-polar not deteriorate, the swelling values of tual stress-strain curves for the materi- have to be evaluated. Specifically when standard fuel FKM materials are non-critical. At als can be observed after the immersion mixing polar and non-polar media, a the- Dimethoxy methane (DMM or OME- temperatures above 125°C, however, the tests. The results for one of the com- oretical estimation of the behavior is not 1) is the smallest derivative and the swelling level and elongation at break pounds (FKM 18) are shown in Fig. 11. sufficient, as seen from previous results. most polar representative of the OME changes of FKM materials can be quite The results show that no significant In the following test program, several family and, due to its small molecule significant. For this reason, only a prop- changes in the stress-strain behavior of FKM materials (FKM 16-21, Table 1), size, a “worst-case” scenario for sealing erly trained specialist should select the FKM 18 containing 67 weight percent were immersed in various OME-n and materials. It was therefore selected to be appropriate sealing material. fluorine are observed before, after 168 standard fuel combinations. For an in- mixed with two grades of standardized hours and after 1,008 hours of immer- depth understanding of the impact of test fuels. Hydrogenated vegetable oil sion in Neste biodiesel at 125°C. The OME derivatives on sealing materials, a First, mixtures based on the non-po- In 2011, Neste entered the market small changes for both immersed sam- variety of standardized test gasolines or lar fluid Fuel C (50 percent volume with a new renewable diesel grade called ples compared to the original material diesels have been employed to achieve a isooctane and 50 percent toluene) were Neste MY Renewable Diesel, which is a are because of the small amount of diverse polarity of the fluids. As immer- investigated, again in combination with hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) die- physical swelling. sion fluids standardized test gasolines, FKM-based sealing components (Table sel. Another range of standard FKM According to these investigations, Neste non-polar Fuel C, and polar FAM B were 1). Three compositions of Fuel C and compounds for sealing applications biodiesel is proven to be unproblematic for used in combination with dimethoxy DMM (pure Fuel C, Fuel C + DMM 90/10 (FKM 16-19, percent), again with vary- FKM-based sealing materials and thus methane (OME-1, DMM, acquired from (v/v) and Fuel C + DMM 80/20 (v/v)) were ing fluorine contents from 64-70 weight represents a promising renewable fuel for Sigma Aldrich) and a standardized die- applied in immersion studies for 168 percent were tested according to the direct application, especially since it is al- sel, Liquid F, in combination with an hours and 1,008 hours at 100°C. standard procedure for diesel fuels rec- ready available on the market. ommended by the VDA 266-100 at 125°C Fig. 9: Volume change ∆V of different FKM materials (FKM 16-19) after immersion for either 168 hours or 1,008 hours. Fig. OME as diesel substitute in Neste biodiesel at 125ºC for 168 h and 1,008 h, respectively. 9 shows the results obtained for the In recent years, oxymethylene ethers swelling levels of the FKM materials. (OME) have attracted great attention as Overall, a very small volume change synthetic, oxygen-containing, non-toxic at a maximum of 2.1 percent is detect- diesel alternatives. Because of their chem- able. Furthermore, the difference in ical structure as ether (Fig. 12), in which volume after the short-term (168 hours) no direct carbon-carbon bonds occur, and the long-term (1,008 hours) testing OME burn without the production of car- Fig. 6: General structure for soy methyl esters (SMEs) with n = 1 – 3. The blue arrows indicate the points of molecule scission at elevated temperatures (above 125 ºC).

Fig. 7: Volume change ∆V for different sealing materials (FKM 9-13, NBR and HNBR) after immersion in soy methyl esters (SMEs) for 1,000 h at 100 ºC and 125ºC. Fig. 10: Change in elongation at break ∆EaB of different FKM materials (FKM 16-19) after immersion in Neste biodiesel at 125 ºC for 168 h and 1,008 h, respectively.

Fig. 8: Change in elongation at break values ∆EaB for two more FKM materials (FKM 14 and FKM 15) after immersion in SMEs for 500 h, 1,000 h and 1,500 h at 140ºC. Fig. 11: Stress-strain curves for FKM 18 (67 wt% F) before, after 168 h and after 1,008 h of immersion in Neste biodiesel at 125ºC. www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 15 Technical

The effect on the volume change for pure non-polar Fuel C. Once the DMM Especially for the higher fluorinated tant FKM type compared to a bisphenolic the FKM compounds (FKM 16-19 from was added, an overall increased swelling FKM 18 and FKM 19, the EaB changes type). For the mixture of DMM with a the immersion experiments with the was detected. FKM 19 as the material of about -10 percent are within the error non-polar base fuel, FKM-based sealing Neste biodiesel, plus a bisphenolic copo- with the highest fluorine content showed range of the conducted ∆EaB test. products seem to be a promising choice. lymer type FKM 20) after immersion in the lowest volume change. However, after However, the behavior changes drasti- the different fuel mixtures are depicted the addition of DMM, no clear connection cally once the polar DMM is added. For Addition of polar DMM to a polar stan- in Figs. 13 and 14, respectively. Long- with the fluorine content could be observed the FKM type with the lowest fluorine dard fuel term tests over 1,008 hours were not (e.g., higher swelling values for FKM 20 content (FKM 16) values up to -46 per- In a next step, the same investigations conducted for all materials and only for than for FKM 17). cent are reached for the immersion in as for the base fluid Fuel C, were con- two of the fuel compositions, after the This indicates that not only the fluo- Fuel C + DMM 80-20 for 168 hours were. ducted with a more polar base fuel: FAM initial tests showed little to no difference rine content but also the polymer archi- As mentioned above, most specifications B. As a standard reference medium for in comparison to the short-term tests. tecture has an influence on the swelling allow for a maximum change of -50 per- elastomeric products, FAM B consists of For all FKM compounds, a linear trend behavior. As only minor changes oc- cent in the EaB value, meaning that all 84.5 percent volume FAM A, 15 percent in swelling behavior was observed in the curred after 1,008 hours of immersion tested materials would still be within methanol, and 0.5 percent water (with time (Fig. 14) compared to the results specification rages. Again, especially the the composition of FAM A: 50 percent Fig. 12: General structure of OME de- for 168 hours (Fig. 13), it can be conclud- higher fluorinated FKM compounds volume toluene, 30 percent isooctane, 15 rivatives; dimethoxy methane (DMM) ed that the long-term immersion of the (FKM 18 and FKM 19) perform very percent diisobutylene, and 5 percent for n = 1 and OME-2, OME-3, OME-4,… DMM-containing medium shows no dif- well after the immersions. ethanol). for n = 2, 3, 4,… as common nomencla- ference to the short-term immersion As for the volume swelling tests, re- As for the tests with Fuel C, the FKM ture of the higher derivatives. (168 hours). sults for ∆EaB are differing only minor materials were immersed in pure FAM As for the previous immersion studies, when comparing the short-term (Fig. B, FAM B + DMM 90-10 (v/v), and FAM the changes for the elongation at break 15) and long-term tests (Fig. 16). Simi- B + DMM 80-20 (v/v). Short-term tests values also were investigated after stor- lar to the results for the volume change, for 168 hours and long-term tests for ing the FKM materials in the fuel mix- no clear linear trend was observed for 1,008 hours were again conducted at tures. The results for the short-term the immersions in the fuel mixtures. 100°C and the materials were after- test compared to the long-term test are Again, FKM 17 with only 65 weight wards observed regarding the values for shown in Fig. 15 and 16, respectively. percent fluorine performs significantly volume change and elongation at break. For both tests, the values obtained for better than FKM 20 with 66 weight per- The values for the volume change after the pure non-polar Fuel C are excellent. cent fluorine, most likely because of a dif- 168 hours and 1,008 hours are depicted ferent polymer architecture (base resis- See Fuel, page 17 Fig. 13: Volume change ∆V of different FKM materials (FKM 16-20) after immersion in either Fuel C, Fuel C + DMM 90-10, or Fuel C + DMM 80-20 for 168 h at 100ºC. Fig. 16: Change in elongation at break ∆EaB of different FKM materials (FKM 16-20) after immersion in either Fuel C or Fuel C + DMM 80-20 for 1,008 h at 100ºC.

Fig. 14: Volume change ∆V of different FKM materials (FKM 16-20) after immersion in Fuel C or Fuel C + DMM 80-20 for 1,008 h at 100ºC. Fig. 17: Volume change ∆V of different FKM materials (FKM 16-20) after immersion in either FAM B, FAM B + DMM 90-10, or FAM B + DMM 80-20 for 168 h at 100ºC.

Fig. 15: Change in elongation at break ∆EaB of different FKM materials (FKM 16-20) after immersion in either Fuel C, Fuel C + DMM 90-10, or Fuel C + DMM 80-20 for Fig. 18: Volume change ∆V of different FKM materials (FKM 16-20) with varying flu- 168 h at 100ºC. orine content after immersion in FAM B or FAM B + DMM 80-20 for 1,008 h at 100ºC. REGISTRATION OPEN

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EXHIBITORS AND SPONSORS: www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 17 Technical

the difference between the short-term Furthermore, no linear trend could be from the former study, and one new low immersion and the long-term test is observed for either the polar base fuel or temperature medium fluorine type Fuel negligible (Fig. 18). for the fuel mixtures. However, the de- (FKM 21) were employed (Table 1). The The results obtained for the elongation picted results clearly show that as soon immersions were again conducted ac- Continued from page 15 at break measurements are shown in as the DMM amount of a polar base fuel cording to the VDA 266-100 norm for in Figs. 17 and 18, respectively. Figs. 19 and 20 for the short-term and increases, the impact on the applied diesel fuels at 125°C for 168 hours. The It becomes obvious at first glance that the long-term immersions, respectively. sealing material can be critical. obtained results for the swelling behav- with a polar base medium like FAM B, In good agreement with the results for ior and the elongation at break change the overall swelling level increased sig- the swelling behavior, the impact of the Addition of polar OME-mix to a non-po- are depicted in Figs. 21 and 22. nificantly compared to the non-polar polar base fluid FAM B on the sealing lar standard diesel For both parameters, a high impact of base medium Fuel C. Once DMM was materials is generally much higher than Although employed in the former im- the OME mix is observed on NBR and added, the swelling continued to in- for the non-polar Fuel C. Again, the dif- mersion studies with fuels, DMM (OME- the low fluorine containing FKM mate- crease as expected. ference between the two test durations 1) is actually not considered in diesel ap- rials, with the base resistant FKM 17 For the low fluorine and low tempera- was insignificant, hinting toward the plications because of its boiling point at (65 weight percent fluorine) and the ture type FKM 16 values of nearly 90 absence of a continuous degradation. low temperature (42°C). However, higher high fluorine FKM 19 as exceptions. percent volume increase were measured. However, the trends observed for the OME derivatives (especially OME-3 to 5) Especially when comparing the volume Furthermore, no linear trend based on volume changes are even more pro- are more in focus as synthetic fuels or change results with the above shown the fluorine content of the fluororubbers nounced when looking at the stiffness diesel admixtures derived from renew- immersion studies employing other po- could be observed, either for pure FAM changes of the materials (∆EaB). For able resources as mentioned before. lar fluids (FAM B and DMM, Fig. 19 B or for mixtures with DMM. The order high amounts of DMM admixtures, only Therefore, in the latest immersion and Fig. 20), the outstandingly poor of swelling maxima changes for FKM 17 the base resistant polymer FKM 17 and study, a wide range of different sealing behavior of the material with low fluo- with 65 weight percent fluorine (a spe- the high fluorine containing FKM 19 materials were subjected to an OME rine is unexpectedly high. cial base resistant type of FKM) and the delivered satisfying results of changes mix from a pilot production in China, For the swelling behavior in pure OME, overall swelling level is relatively low for below 50 percent. The impact of the containing OME-3, OME-4 and OME-5 even NBR and especially EPDM-based the amount of fluorine. DMM mixtures on the standard and low as pure medium, admixtures of the compounds perform better. While all FKM Both FKM 18 and FKM 20 with high- fluorine type materials was expectedly OME mix in a standardized diesel Liq- compounds are at a low level in pure diesel er fluorine contents of 66 and 67 weight high, in one case (FKM 20 in FAM B + uid F (OME mix + Liquid F (30-70) (v/v), fuel Liquid F, the degree of swelling in- percent, respectively, perform notably DMM 80-20) even too high to obtain a OME-mix + Liquid F (20-80) (v/v), OME- creases significantly when OME is added worse. As for the immersion tests before, meaningful result. mix + Liquid F (10-90) (v/v)) as well as to the diesel fuel. The NBR compound still pure Liquid F. performs reasonably well, whereas the Fig. 19: Change in elongation at break ∆EaB of different FKM materials (FKM 16-20) af- As materials, an NBR, an EPDM, an EPDM compound shows strongly in- ter immersion in FAM B, FAM B + DMM 90-10, or FAM B + DMM 80-20 for 168 h at 100ºC. FFKM-based compound, FKM 16-20 creased volume changes because of the Table 1: List of FKM compounds used non-polar Liquid F (as expected). in immersion experiments. For both the pure OME mix and the admixtures with Liquid F, similar re- sults are obtained for the ∆EaB values, except for very poor results for NBR when compared to its good volume swell- ing results. When considering -50 per- cent as specification limit, only EPDM, the base resistant FKM 17, the high fluorine containing FKM 19, a special low-temperature type FKM 21 and FFKM succeed the test. For FKM 21 only the immersions in critical, highly polar (pure OME mix) and See Fuel, page 19

Fig. 22: Change in elongation at break ∆EaB of different sealing materials (FKM 16-21, NBR, EPDM, and FFKM) after immersion in either a commercially available OME-mix, OME-mix + Liquid F (30-70) (v/v), OME-mix + Liquid F (20-80) (v/v), OME- Fig. 20: Change in elongation at break ∆EaB of different FKM materials (FKM 16- mix + Liquid F (10-90) (v/v) or pure Liquid F for 168 h at 125ºC. 20) with varying fluorine content after immersion in either FAM B or FAM B + DMM 80-20 for 1,008 h at 100ºC.

Fig. 23: Comparison of a) elongation at break change ∆EaB in % and b) volume Fig. 21: Volume change ∆V of different sealing materials (FKM 16-21, NBR, EPDM, change ∆V in % results for 168 h and 1,000 h immersion of FKM 19 in Liquid F/OME- and FFKM) after immersion in either a commercially available OME-mix, OME-mix + mix 70-30 (v/v) at 125ºC. Liquid F (30-70) (v/v), OME-mix + Liquid F (20-80) (v/v), OME-mix + Liquid F (10-90) (v/v), or pure Liquid F for 168 h at 125ºC. ARE YOU ONE OF RUBBERAre You & OnePLASTICS Of NEWS’ BESTRubber PLACES & Plastics TO WORK? News' Best Places To Work?

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rubbernews.com www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 19 Bridgestone, Goodyear continue to build joint venture

By Kathy McCarron in place as you would with any start-up company, but Tire Business “When you think of it as we have not had any significant customer losses at all ATLANTA—Combining two legacy brands, such as as we move ahead. Goodyear and Bridgestone, into a cohesive joint operation making this as seamless and “And I would say, when we look at their inventory, is a challenge that requires collaboration and logistics. straightforward to do they’re actually running more efficient than our previous Just ask TireHub L.L.C. CEO Peter Gibbons, who supplier. … But I would also tell you that supply in the has spent almost a year getting the wholesale joint business with us as fourth quarter in the industry is something that was a venture off the ground, after Goodyear and Bridgestone bit of a challenge. And I think if you ask around, some of Americas Inc. created the $600 million, stand-alone possible, that’s a our competitors had the same problem. So that issue, I company based in Atlanta. good starting place think, is out there in the near term as well. But overall, I Since opening for business in July of 2018, TireHub would say, in all of the things we look at, TireHub is es- has consolidated several distribution centers in certain to think about how sentially on or ahead of schedule,” Kramer said. markets where Goodyear and Bridgestone’s Tire you want to be “With Goodyear and Bridgestone, our customers get Wholesale Warehouse both had operations. TireHub access to great, great products. What we’re going to do is also opened locations in San Diego and Baton Rouge, perceived by our make that process as seamless as possible,” Gibbons said. for a total of 68 distribution centers. The company also “So our instock availability needs to be excellent. added employees for a work force of more than 1,200. dealers and Being able to interact with those customers online or by One of the challenges of creating a joint venture was customers.” telephone needs to be excellent. We need to make sure combining sales forces and employees loyal to one com- our capability to deliver and get goods where they want, pany and having them work together for the new enter- Peter Gibbons when they want it and done in a fashion that they ap- prise, according to Gibbons, who said TireHub calls its preciate and want to come back to us. employees “hubbers.” “When you think of it as making this as seamless and straightforward to do business with us as possible, that’s a good starting place to think about how you “We’ve taken the apart from other wholesale operations. want to be perceived by our dealers and customers,” he “First and foremost, we are focusing on our custom- said. best of both worlds, ers in markets where we’ve got locations situated cur- TireHub offers Bridgestone’s and Goodyear’s portfo- taken the best of rently,” Wilks said. “We’re making sure that we’re lio of brands, as well as Toyo-brand tires, which Bridge- serving them consistently, and we’re making sure we stone’s Firestone Complete Auto Care retail stores have both companies, give them access to best-in-class products that they been selling for several years. need when they need them. Gibbons didn’t rule out adding other brands to its and using that to “We’ve been working very hard to increase our deliv- portfolio in the future after evaluating customer de- ery frequency. That delivery cadence in some geograph- mand and other factors. create something ic areas, we’re now delivering to customers within a that is quite 25-mile radius four times a day. So that’s our minimum Seeking feedback standard as we’re operating across the country now. As for the reaction of dealers to the new TireHub op- unique to “Our focus is really on helping our dealers to win and erations, Wilks said the company has sought feedback grow their businesses. So we’re looking at geographic from its customers but didn’t reveal details. TireHub.” areas where we see opportunities to better serve the “Our leadership team recently had the opportunity to Silvia Wilks customers based on the needs of the market. meet with a large number of customers, and they were “TireHub is being really great about seeing the big- very straightforward with us. We asked them to give ger picture. This is our opportunity to change the tire direct feedback telling us what’s working and what we distribution industry and to really do it differently and could do to improve our service to them. to do it our way,” she said. “We continue to evaluate “They gave us some really great feedback and that what we need to do next that might be different, that compels us to get better and better every day and con- the customers might be looking for, to improve our ser- tinue to say yes to them every day,” she said. vice and our delivery.” Gibbons added that TireHub has been augmenting its He said with such a venture, every situation is new online sales and ordering system, including integrating and every situation requires collaboration, adding that Growing both brands with dealers’ point-of-sale systems, customers’ E-com- the cooperation from employees and customers have Gibbons declined to reveal the ratio of Goodyear ver- merce platforms and its own B2B E-commerce site. been “fantastic.” sus Bridgestone sales, but said overall sales are not “Sales across all platforms continue to increase,” he “We like to say, ‘Hubbers deliver without being asked.’ decreasing. said, adding, “We’re working on optimizing and im- And that attitude has helped us get through that start- “We’re a 50-50 joint venture, so we strive to grow proving e-commerce and interacting with our custom- up phase—where everything is new, everything is a sales for both brands,” Wilks added. ers.” first—to grow and succeed,” he said. During a recent conference call with analysts, Rich- While online sales are becoming more accepted as a “We’ve taken the best of both worlds, taken the best ard Kramer, Goodyear chairman, CEO and president, way of doing business, he acknowledged there are times of both companies, and using that to create something said, “TireHub’s customer transition activity orders when customers want to talk and interact with sales- that is quite unique to TireHub,” Silvia Wilks, Tire- and deliveries of Goodyear-branded product each per- people. Hub’s vice president of operations, added. formed in line or ahead of our expectations. Gibbons said the biggest challenge in the wholesale “We talk about saying ‘yes’ to our customers. We like “Over the long term, TireHub will strengthen our market is the wide range of products that dealers phys- to say yes and help our dealers grow their businesses, ability to promote our premium brands, our industry ically cannot stock themselves. and we know we can do that by being approachable, leading E-commerce solution and our strategy of tar- “They’re looking for people like us to help them manage adventurous, relentless and speedy. Those are the four geting the industry’s most profitable large room seg- that more effectively. Their ability to store inventory is maxims that we operate on. … We’ve had great energy ments.” finite and so our job is to allow them to access the whole around TireHub from the start.” He said the tire maker didn’t lose any customers. range of Goodyear and Bridgestone products and access She said those four pillars are what set TireHub “We’ve had some growing pains as we’ve put TireHub that quickly and efficiently when they need it,” he said. Technical

Conclusion tional factors such as the polymer archi- For this reason, the proper sealing mate- From the results of all immersion stud- tectures play a key role and need to be rial still needs to be carefully selected by a Fuel ies it becomes apparent that when small, considered in future investigations. competent expert. highly polar molecules such as alcohols Furthermore, an overall change in Continued from page 17 or ethers are used, the elastomeric ma- permeation of the material was observed References mixed polarity (Liquid F/ OME mix terial can be strongly affected. However, when in contact with such small and po- 1. Contributions of 10th International Colloquium 70-30 (v/v)) media was conducted. To for most emerging fuel compositions, lar molecules (e.g., methanol). They can ‘Fuels–Conventional and Future Energy for Auto- mobiles,’ 2015, edited by Bartz, W.J. ensure there was no long-term effect on FKM-based materials are without alter- serve as a so-called ‘door-opener’ and lead 2. Logothetis, A., Progress in Polymer Science, the compounds, 1,000-hour immersions native regarding the variation and should to an overall increased permeation also 1989, 14, 251. were conducted for the highest fluorine strongly be considered for sealing appli- for other component in the fuels. It be- 3. Moore, A.L., Drobny, J.G., Fluoroelastomers containing FKM 19 with 70 weight cations. For lowest swelling results, comes clear from the presented data that Handbook: The Definitive User’s Guide and Data- percent fluorine in the Liquid F/OME even FFKM-based materials could be the selection of a proper sealing material book, Taylor & Francis U.S., 2006. 4. 6 October 2004, 13th International Sealing Con- mix (70-30) mixture with the highest considered. can be a challenging task. ference, Stuttgart, Beck, K., Bescher, M., Kreisel- content of OME mix. In the present contribution, various To date, FKM and FFKM represent the maier, R., Freudenberg Forschungsdien-ste K.G., The results for ∆EaB and ∆V are de- FKM compounds with varying fluorine only materials that can withstand the Osen, E., Peterseim, V., Freudenberg Dichtungs- picted in Fig. 23. As for the other im- contents and rubber architectures were varying fuel compositions and should und Schwingungstechnik K.G. mersion studies, the changes between tested for immersion in different fuels. No therefore be considered as standard seal- 5. Nawar, W., J. Agric. Food Chem., 1969, 17, 18. 6. Lumpp, B., Rothe, D., Pastoetter, C., Lammer- 168 hours and 1,000 hours are only mi- general trend regarding material behavior ing materials in the future. However, the mann, R., Jacob, E., MTZ Worldw, 2011, 72, 34. nor, hinting at only physical impact on was observed in their fluorine content, differences after immersions can still be 7. Gross, M., Nachrichten aus der Chemie, 2010, 58, the elastomer networks. which leads to the conclusion that addi- significant depending on the FKM types. 653-654. 20 Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 www.rubbernews.com

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By Dan Shingler University of Akron’s website. Crain’s Cleveland Business Administrators said they’re disappointed to see AKRON—The University of Akron’s polymer pro- Becker and his team leave but happy that they are go- gram is losing a big-league researcher and his staff to ing to a prestigious school like Duke, which reflects Duke University, but officials vowed to continue invest- positively on UA. ing in the school’s College of Polymer Science and Poly- “It’s always sad to lose a good colleague, particularly mer Engineering. a colleague of high stature in his career like Becker,” Matthew Becker announced March 5 on Twitter that interim UA President John Green said. “But people he’s moving to Duke, along with have to do what’s best for their his lab and 13 staff members. “It’s always sad to lose a career and family, and he’s “We are excited for the fu- been offered an incredible po- ture and humbled by the op- good colleague, particularly sition—and a position he de- portunity to work with new a colleague of high stature serves.” colleagues,” his tweet read. Green continued, “Even Becker has been a standout in his career like Becker.” though it’s sad, it reflects pos- researcher at UA, a vocal sup- itively on us that we have a porter of the polymer college John Green person that a school like Duke and a critic of losses in faculty and polymer researchers wants to hire. And we remain strongly committed to Matthew Becker in 2017 and 2018. the polymer department.” He declined to be interviewed about the specific rea- Polymer college interim dean Ali Dhinojwala said he, to funding its polymer college. sons for his departure, saying only in two brief emails too, was saddened by Becker’s departure but added that “When we finished our program review last summer, that he’s taking his lab staff, mostly graduate and doc- he’s optimistic about the future of the college in light of there was a lot of focus on the programs we decided to toral students, with him to the North Carolina school recent investments by the university. phase out, but I think an even more important part was because “I have decided the best path forward for me Dhinojwala said he’s been able to hire three new that we designated areas for investments,” Green said. and my research team.” doctorate faculty members in recent months and is in “And the polymer science and engineering colleges Becker and his group, who have been working on the process of hiring a fourth. They each will run their were both targeted for investments. … We really have to medical technologies such as a polymer-based delivery own labs and perform research at Akron. build on our strengths, and these are areas of strength. system to administer low doses of painkillers at the “Three of them have already accepted and are going So supporting these colleges is certainly a priority.” surgical site during operations, will work with Duke in to join in the fall,” Dhinojwala said. “We’ve put in all In addition to hiring the new faculty members, the the areas of chemistry, mechanical engineering, mate- the investment that will be necessary for them to start polymer college also received funding to hire five tech- rial science and orthopedic surgery, he said. here. … The fourth person is also very close to accept- nical staff members, all doctorates, who will help facul- Becker brought both recognition and funding to Ak- ing, and we are finalizing the offer this week.” ty and researchers with labs and equipment, Dhinojwa- ron. At the end of 2017, he was awarded a $2 million Green said that although the university continues to la said. grant from Ohio’s Third Frontier program, its largest go through a restructuring—it recently put a reorgani- “We were successful in hiring all five of them, and grant to a university at that time, according to the zation plan on a temporary hold—it remains committed the last one will be joining us in April.”

“Most rail and bus projects in the U.S. receive some form of public funding,” Hubner Paquette said. “It’s very rare to have something that’s privately funded, so Continued from page 1 they have to comply with Buy America. facturing capabilities—accounts for These customers of ours that we supply about 35 percent, and the remainder of in Europe are coming to the U.S. and its global sales comes from its laser/ want us to also supply those same parts photonics and fabrics businesses. in the America market in compliance The Dunlap factory initially will pro- with Buy America.” duce rubber extruded profiles, gaskets However, as Hubner’s Dunlap plant and seals used in window systems to the grows it eventually will support other transportation industry. The decision to industries it currently supplies from localize production of these parts comes abroad. Paquette said it has a strong in response to its European customers European presence in aviation and will needing to source product from U.S.- look to localize that technology to serve based suppliers to be in compliance with its customers in the U.S. in addition to the country’s “Buy America” standard. chasing new business. Paquette said one requirement for a It also intends to bring some of its oil company to sell a component part to a and gas-related production to Dunlap to public transportation authority is to be locally supply some of its U.S.-based Buy America compliant, which requires customers. Hubner produces silicone that 70 percent of the component must products for shaker tables on off-shore Hubner is locating production in the U.S. to follow its customers in the transpor- be made in the U.S. oil rigs. Those currently are supplied tation industry that are looking for their suppliers to source parts in compliance from Hungary and Malaysia. with “Buy America,” requiring 70 percent of the component to be made in the U.S. Mount Pleasant also is going to see a significant boost in production thanks to a major order from the New York subway system, which just disclosed that all its new trains will have gang- way systems. Worldwide, Paquette said Hubner is a dominant player in this in- dustry with nearly an 85 percent market share, including almost 100 percent of the U.S. market. Those systems are the interface that goes between rail cars when passengers walk through one to the next. Its rubber products business supplies components for these systems. Based in Germany, Hubner was founded in 1946 and has since expanded across the world with locations in the U.S., Brazil, China, Malaysia, India, It- aly, Hungary, Russia, Sweden, England and South Africa. It employs 3,000 at 15 international manufacturing sites with Hubner produces rubber extruded pro- about $550 million in sales, including files found in window systems. $35 million in South Carolina. 22 Rubber & Plastics News • March 25, 2019 www.rubbernews.com Bernie Sanders introduces bill to re-establish estate tax threshold By Miles Moore tax rate on the smallest taxable estates Rubber & Plastics News Staff would assist in job creation and increased WASHINGTON—Sen. Bernie Sand- profitability for small businesses,” TIA said. ers, I-Vt., has introduced a bill that would S. 309 would limit estate planning tech- re-establish the threshold of the estate niques that help small business owners to tax at $3.5 million and set the top taxa- keep their businesses in the family, such as tion rate as high as 77 percent. gifts of interest in a family business to S. 309, which Sen. Sanders introduced younger family members, according to TIA. Jan. 31, is also called the “For the 99.8 S. 309 also would be inherently unfair Percent Tax” and would establish a tax of to small businesses, even more so than 45 percent of the value of estates valued current estate tax law, TIA said. between $3.5 million and $10 million. For example, a small business owner The 77 percent tax rate would be as- who died this year would owe nothing on sessed only on estates worth more than an estate of $11.4 million, it said. If that $1 billion, according to S. 309’s provisions. same owner died in 2026, under current The rate would be 50 percent for estates law he would owe $2.24 million. assessed between $10 million and $50 If S. 309 became law, the tax on $11.4 million, and 55 percent for estates be- million would be about $3.63 million, tween $50 million and $1 billion. TIA said. “At a time of massive wealth and in- S. 309 was introduced one week after come inequality, when the three richest S. 215, the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2019, Americans own more wealth than 160 which would repeal estate taxes outright. million Americans, it is literally beyond Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Bob Schulmeister, general manager of Fukoku’s manufacturing plant in Laurens, S.C. belief that the Republican leadership (R-Ky.), Senate Majority Whip John wants to provide hundreds of billions of Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Finance Illinois into the South Carolina location. dollars in tax breaks to the top 0.2 per- Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Schulmeister said one main key to Fu- cent,” Sanders said in a statement accom- (R-Iowa) were the co-sponsors, joined by Fukoku koku’s global success is its emphasis on panying the introduction of S. 309. 26 other Senate Republicans. culture. “Our bill does what the American peo- TIA was one of more than 150 associa- Continued from page 1 “Fukoku Japan is very aware of the ple want by substantially increasing the tions, also including the Auto Care As- region and also allocates some of that global environment,” Schulmeister said. estate tax on the wealthiest families in sociation and the American Trucking space for customers. “They understand the differences in this country and substantially reducing Associations, which signed a Feb. 19 The firm is primarily a Tier 2 suppli- cultures, whether it’s America, Czech wealth inequality,” he said. Family Business Coalition letter sup- er, but directly supplies Honda rub- Republic or China. They go out of their Since 2017, the estate tax exemption has porting S. 215. ber-produced supply pulley seals. way to make sure when there are ex-pats been $11.4 million for individuals and $22.8 “The death tax is unfair,” the letter Fukoku America is a subsidiary of from Japan that they go through several million for couples. However, that rate is said. “It makes no sense to require griev- Ageo, Japan-based Fukoku Co. Ltd., classes just to learn the culture of the scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. ing families to pay a confiscatory tax on which makes rubber and plastic prod- plants they’re going to be assigned to.” While the Tire Industry Association fa- their loved one’s nest egg. The negative ucts for the automotive industry with The firm is in the middle of a $13.9 vors a graduated estate tax, the tax levels effects of the estate tax make permanent some industrial applications. The parent million investment at the Laurens site, in S. 309 are far too harsh, TIA said in the repeal the only solution for family busi- company employs about 6,000 at 20 loca- which began in 2017 and at the time in- Feb. 25 issue of its Legislative Update. nesses and farms. tions. After the U.S., the remaining lo- tended to add 30 new machines and 65 A 20-percent tax rate on the first $5 mil- Although neither bill has a strong cations are mostly in Japan with others jobs. Schulmeister said these new ma- lion to $10 million of an estate, with a chance of passage, both serve as remind- in Thaliland, India, Vietnam, China, chines are part of that project. The firm 40-percent tax rate on anything above that, ers to small business owners to take the Czech Republic and Mexico. has four new machines scheduled for would be much fairer, the association said. steps now to preserve their estates for Its products include radiator seals, 2020 and four more in 2021. “We contend that this type of lower estate their heirs, according to TIA. boots for steering columns, constant ve- At that time, Schulmeister said the firm locity joint boots, damper pulleys, brake will have to consider either outsourcing its booster diaphragms, wiper blade rubber, warehousing space or expanding the dates, and the case remains open, VOSH radiator gaskets, duty valves, piston building to accommodate future growth. said. The joint agreement will be sub- seals, anti-vibration products, vibration The Laurens site sits on 200,000 square Goodyear mitted to the Danville Circuit Court for control products and resins. Fukoku’s feet of total available land. review, it said. largest global business is its rubber “We’re projected to grow through Continued from page 1 Jones said Goodyear has addressed wiper blades. 2022,” Schulmeister said. “We have a egory 3 (within 180 days), it said. all the conditions identified in the fourth The firm established the Laurens site five-year plan that we’re executing. VOSH inspectors found in an April 4, inspection, including issues. in 2001. Within three years it doubled in We’re adding additional equipment and 2017, inspection that all Category 1 vio- “There will never be a ‘finish line’ to our size as it merged a sister company from jobs every year.” lations had been corrected except for safety obligations, and we continue to certain lockout/tagout (LOTO) viola- work hard every day to identify and reme- tions, the agency said. Goodyear asked diate hazards in the workplace,” he said. for an extension on the LOTO violations, “Based on our recent safety performance which the agency granted with a dead- and thanks to the engagement from all line of Aug. 18, 2017. On June 5, inspec- associates, our safety improvement strate- Company Name Web address/Email Phone# Page tors found that all Category 2 violations gy is moving us in the right direction.” had been abated, VOSH said. Meanwhile, as part of the February AirBoss Rubber www.airbossofamerica.com 800-294-5723 5 A third inspection on Sept. 19, 2017, 2017 consent agreement, Goodyear Compounding [email protected] produced a mixed bag, according to VOSH. agreed to host three Virginia VPP Best “The overwhelming majority of non-LO- Practices Days, VOSH said. Akron Rubber www.ardl.com 866-778-ARDL 11 TO violations were abated,” the agency The first Best Practices Day, held Development Lab [email protected] said. ‘(But) the VOSH compliance team Sept. 13, 2017, dealt with machine DeWAL Industries www.DeWAL.com 800-366-8356 10 identified a number of issues during the guarding and hosted more than 160 third monitoring inspection, all but one of registered attendees, according to the [email protected] which concerned LOTO abatement.” agency. The second, held Sept. 12, 2018, Ergon, Inc. www.ergonnsa.com 601-933-3148 24 The violations resulted in $185,000 in dealt with LOTO and had more than [email protected] penalties, with $85,000 paid to the state 150 registered attendees, it said. The and the rest retained by Goodyear to third, on electrical and confined space Finite Fiber www.finitefiber.com 330-773-6654 13 abate the violations and provide a LO- hazards, will be held sometime in 2019. [email protected] TO-related training course for Danville “Best Practices Days give the opportu- employees, supervisors and managers, nity for Danville associates to share Harwick Standard www.harwick.com 330-798-9300 2 the agency said. lessons learned from their safety jour- Distribution Corporation [email protected] 800-899-4412 A fourth inspection on Aug. 28, 2018, ney and to benchmark with other leaders identified non-LOTO issues that were in the safety field,” Jones said. “It has HollyFrontier www.HollyFrontierLSP.com 800-395-2786 23 potentially serious, VOSH said. Never- been rewarding for our Danville team to Corporation [email protected] theless, the agency found that Goodyear share their experiences with peer orga- Renkert Oil, LLC www.renkertoil.com 415-408-3706 9 had acted in good faith throughout the nizations while learning from others to abatement process, it said. improve their site.” [email protected] Goodyear and VOSH entered into a Jeff Dixon, president of USW Local Soucy-Techno, Inc. www.soucygroup.com 819-864-4284 7 joint pre-citation settlement agreement 831, said the union was pleased with the [email protected] on the new violations dated Jan. 28, progress of the joint safety efforts with 2019, according to the agency. Goodyear and VOSH, but declined fur- A reader service from to Rubber Industry Advertisers Goodyear is contesting the abatement ther comment. CRITICAL STOPPING...

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