Downloaded in As Connections
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
July 26, 2021 I $99 per year, $4.50 per copy The Rubber Industry’s International Newspaper Showing resiliency UHP market strong despite drop in sedan sales By Jim Johnson rector, said. Rubber & Plastics News Staff “While the performance vehicle market might So if car enthusiasts are called gearheads, be reducing in terms of vehicle launches, we what’s a tire enthusiast called? continue to see the volume differences offset by Treadheads? Probably not. an increase in performance CUVs and SUVs. Being part of the motorhead population means “Some CUV platforms now demand V- or paying attention to things such as W-rated products, showcasing the trend horsepower and suspension systems. toward UHP. With an increase in OE But there’s also plenty of interest in the speed rating demands as well, all-sea- tires that move those performance vehi- son UHPs are driving growth in this cles. market. We are seeing UHP tire sales True autophiles know their wheels showing significant growth year over and are not afraid to spend the extra year,” he said. cash to outfit their vehicles with ul- A changing landscape for vehicles, tra-high performance tires. But UHP one where higher performance is being Honeywell hopes to bring tires also are not the sole domain of the sought by more and more drivers, is nitrile glove production to automotive illuminati. helping to drive growth in the tire seg- the U.S. by mid-2022. Lee As product planner for Bridgestone ment, Lee said. Americas Tire Operations, U.S. and Canada, “Over the years, original equipment vehicle part of Brad Robison’s job is to keep his finger on manufacturers have developed and tuned CUVs Honeywell looks to start the pulse of the UHP market. and SUVs with more performance-focused fea- “The UHP tire segment remains strong: De- tures. The result is a healthy and growing UHP spite a decrease in sedan sales, the popularity of tire market,” he said. U.S. nitrile glove operation sports cars, and accordingly the UHP tire seg- Bridgestone’s Robison agrees. ment, continues to hold strong. “The UHP OE market is strong, driven by the By Mike McNulty tic operation will require more “Much of that can be attributed to the market continued presence of sports cars, sports se- Rubber & Plastics News Correspondent people to staff the production.” shift toward CUVs, SUVs and light trucks, dans and sporty CUVs among new vehi- CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Honeywell Honeywell did not previously where consumer demand for sportier models cle sales. In these categories, we’ve International Inc. and Premier make nitrile gloves in the U.S. with more power and responsiveness are driving seen the OEMs engineering the Inc. are teaming up in the U.S. to Honeywell’s spokesman said the upward trend in UHP tires,” Robison told See UHP, page 22 expand the domestic production that members of Premier’s net- Rubber & Plastics News in an email interview. and supply of nitrile examination work “have committed to purchas- “Consumer expectations of performance tires gloves to hospitals, clinics and ing a percentage of (the Honeywell continue to rise: Not only do consumers want a other health care providers. produced) gloves for a five-year tire that delivers ultimate grip and handling, While the complete details on period. This long-term commit- they also want a tire with longer wear life and the manufacturing part of the ment from U.S. health care com- all-season performance. collaboration are sketchy at this panies enables us to invest in do- “Consumers today are doing more research point, a Honeywell spokesman mestic production, helping to about the products available in the market, and indicated that the current plan strengthen the personal protection they want a tire that performs for a long time and will include the addition of a new equipment supply chain.” across a variety of seasonal conditions,” he said. U.S. nitrile glove production facil- Premier is a technology driven Nexen Tire America Inc. views UHP tires as ity and personnel for the company. health care improvement compa- an important growth segment and provided He said that “with the partner- ny with an alliance of more than some perspective on the market. ship, we will be working to estab- 4,100 U.S. hospitals and health “The UHP segment is still seeing growth, even lish new operations here in the systems and about 200,000 other with trends continuing to move toward CUVs U.S., with production of these providers and organizations in and SUVs,” Jay Lee, Nexen product planning di- new gloves starting in mid-2022. its network and will handle dis- We do anticipate this new domes- See Honeywell, page 18 Nolato Contour expands Midwest footprint By Mike Scott vaccine/drug manufacturing components. Nolato Rubber & Plastics News Correspondent Contour produces and supplies plastic components BALDWIN, Wis.—Precision plastic and silicone in- and finished medical devices to medical and phar- jection molding company Nolato Contour Inc. is fin- maceutical OEMs throughout the U.S. ishing up a $5 million expansion project that will help Planning began in Fall 2020 as strategic cus- create an estimated 75 jobs over the next three years tomer demand increased beyond the company’s in and around Baldwin. current capacity, according to Nolato Contour The expansion will help the company increase President and Managing Director Russell Steele. its North American revenue and extend its market With the expansion, the company will have rough- share. The expanded area broke ground in June ly 200,000 square feet of manufacturing, ware- 2021 and project completion is expected by house and office space. the first quarter of 2022. Once that expansion is complete, the site This expansion includes a 60,000-sq.- Our special will have six molding rooms, with five report on North America represents 13 percent of Nolato Contour’s global sales. ft. expansion of warehousing and produc- class 7 and 8 clean rooms, along with tion support for expanded medical prod- Wire & CablePage 10. controlled manufacturing space for ther- uct needs. The investment will support begins on moplastic, silicone and device assembly. ©Entire contents copyright 2021 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. the production of diagnostic products and See Nolato, page 18 Learn More on Hose & Belt Page 23 October 2021 SheratonManufacturers Suites Akron Cuyahoga Falls, Conference OH 13-14, P001_P022_RPN_20210726.indd 1 7/22/21 6:15 PM RPN05258.indd 1 7/9/21 5:04 PM www.rubbernews.com Rubber & Plastics News • July 26, 2021 3 In focus NR recovery continues European Rubber Journal KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The Evidence of escalating demand world production of natural rubber gradually is returning to pre-pan- demic levels, while demand is ex- NewAge investing $2M to add clean room at Pa. headquarters site pected to further increase following By Andrew Schunk we’re renovating another building that we purchased last year. better than expected recovery in the Rubber & Plastics News Staff The additional clean rooms at our headquarters will help us get U.S., United Kingdom and Europe. SOUTHAMPTON, Pa.—When NewAge Industries added 40,000 more, much-needed product out the door and on the way to our In June, NR production reached square feet to its headquarters in southeastern Pennsylvania biopharm and pharmaceutical customers.” 1.05 million metric tons, on par with several years ago, the assumption was that the $12 million in- The 265 employees of the 100-percent-employee-owned New- pre-pandemic levels of 2019, the As- vestment would be all the more space it would need to meet de- Age Industries soon will be spread between Southampton and sociation of Natural Rubber Produc- mand from its hose and tube-seeking customers. Warrington, Pa., via another 97,000-sq.-ft. facility that is set to ing Countries said in a July 14 So what’s another $2 million for an additional 3,000 square be operational by this fall. monthly update. feet of clean room space at the company’s main campus? Primarily an extrusion and warehousing facility that already “While some producing countries For NewAge, it means improved efficiency, better quality as- existed, NewAge has invested about $20 million in the building are in the midst of pandemic battle, surance and more production space for the assembly and mold- that will be “making saleable products by late October,” Baker the production seems not severely ing of its products, many of which serve the biological and said. NewAge will look to add another 40 to 60 team members affected by the pandemic restriction pharmaceutical industries. with the completion of the Warrington building, located about measures as compared to a year ago,” The clean room is an ISO Class 7 facility and should be com- 15 minutes from Southampton. the report said. plete by fall. It represents the third construction project in the “When fully operational we will have doubled our capacity,” Total production for the second last three years in Southampton, coming on the heels of the Baker said. quarter of the year reached 2.87 mil- construction of an initial 20,000-sq.-ft. clean room and another The Warrington facility is expected to be one-stop shopping lion tons, 44,000 tons lower than AN- 20,000 square feet of warehouse space. for AdvantaPure customers, with raw materials coming in the RPC’s estimation earlier in the year. “We predicted that the expansion we did a front door and end products—such as silicone and thermoplas- Over the first half, supply recov- few years ago would be all the space we’d tic elastomer hose and tubing—exiting out the back.