Dr. K N RAGHAVAN - Indian Rubber Journal

INDIAN RUBBER JOURNAL � INTERNATIONAL RUBBER JOURNAL

26th Anniversary 2019 ��VOLUME 197 �� Vis i t IRJ at www.ir journal .com®

Dr. K N RAGHAVANChairman & Executive DirectorRubber Board

Email: [email protected] Website: www.irjournal.com

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INDIAN + INTERNATIONAL RUBBER JOURNAL26TH ANNIVERSARY - JUNE 2019

Editorial 08

Tire News 22

Company News 34

Diary of World Events 44

Natural Rubber 48

Auto News 74

Indian Business News 78

World Business News 82

VOLUME 197 26TH ANNIVERSARY - JUNE 2019

COVER STORY:

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PAGE: 66

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INTERVIEW: Dr. KN Raghavan,Chairman and Executive Director of Rubber Board in an interviewwith M Noorani

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Contents

I N D I A N R U B B E R J O U R N A L ■ I N T E R N A T I O N A L R U B B E R J O U R N A L

INDIAN RUBBER JOURNALINTERNATIONAL RUBBER JOURNAL

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CIRCULATION:CIRCULATION:CIRCULATION:CIRCULATION:CIRCULATION: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines,Thailand, Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, USA, UK, Canada, Latin America, WesternEurope, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, South Korea, Russia, Australia,New Zealand, Africa, Turkey, Greece, Iran and The Middle East.

FOUNDER, PUBLISHER & EDITOR M Noorani

MANAGING EDITOR Aïda Noorani Malik

GENERAL MANAGER Farida Bharucha

Rubber Board India

PAGE: 31

Michelin andGM to take theair out of cartires by 2024:FlorentMenegaux

Michelin

Mrs. Ingeborg GrossCEO and ManagingPartner Schill +Seilacher/Struktol

BKT gears up for the next levelwith new Europeanheadquarters: Arvind Poddar,Managing Director, BKT.Rajiv Poddar, Joint ManagingDirector, BKT

BKT

PAGE: 32

VystarDr. RK Matthan,Director,VystarCorporation,USA

EDITORIAL

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Aida Malik M Noorani

Since the last issue of the IRJ was published a coupleof months ago, many important events haveoccurred, which will have a significant impact on

the global economy and hence on the rubber industry.India’s incumbent, the right-wing BJP party scored aresounding success, winning the recent elections by a largemargin, confounding all critics and leaving its opponentsshell shocked and the leading opposition party, theCongress, decimated.

The recently-announced budget in India has laid out aroad map to push the country’s $3 trillion economy to hit$5 million in the next few years. Since the Budget revealedno significant changes in corporate and personal incometaxes (against expectations), the Bombay stock marketreflected the disappointment, falling by 2000 points in thefour days following the presentation of the Budget by thecountry’s new Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.

Internationally, tension remains high between the US andIran. One can only hope that European nations will play arestraining role and help avoid a war. The human andfinancial cost of sustained and real conflict is immense.With the exit of UK Prime Minister Theresa May, the country’seconomy will hopefully benefit from stability.

India’s automobile sales continue to fall, which willnaturally have an impact on the country’s tire industry andother ancillary industries. The good news is that followinga slow start in June, the monsoon has picked up very welland by the first week of July, India had already received45% of its annual rainfall, and has another four to six weeksof the monsoon season ahead.

NR prices in the country have moved upwards in the lasttwo months since May, which will surely have an impacton the profitability of India’s tire companies.

India’s Rubber Board is the focus of our Cover Story.Established in 1945, it has evolved into one of the finestinstitutions of its kind in the world. Under the experienceand leadership of Dr. KN Raghavan, Chairman and

Executive Director, the Rubber Board continues to play astellar role in overseeing the requirements of all sectors ofthe Indian rubber industry.

Michelin of France has once again proved its remarkablemettle. Along with the American auto giant, Ford Motors,it has developed UPTIS tires — a production-ready versionof the Tweel system — the airless tire created by Michelin.

BKT, India’s global tire major, continues its relentlessmarch to the next level, with the inauguration of itsEuropean headquarters in Seregno, near Milan, Italy. Thisbase in Italy will enable BKT to increase its foothold in theimportant Western tire market.

It is with great sadness that we report the passing awayof Mrs. Ingeborg Gross, the dynamic CEO and ManagingPartner of the SCHILL+SEILACHER/STRUKTOL GROUP.With determination and focus, Mrs. Gross made her groupa major force in the global rubber and tire industries. I hadthe pleasure of meeting her, in 1999 in Seoul, South Koreaand was greatly impressed by her ambition and resolve togrow her company….. RIP.

We hope you will find plenty of interest in this issue andlook forward to the developments and news that the nextfew months ahead will bring .

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INTERVIEW

What were yourfeelings on takingover as ExecutiveDirector?

It is a matter of greathonour and pride to beappointed as theExecutive Director of theRubber Board, which hasgained a reputation forbeing an efficientorganisation dedicatedto the growth ofproduction of NaturalRubber (NR) in India. Ihave a previousexperience of working inthis sector as I wasManaging Director of theKerala CooperativeRubber MarketingFederation (Rubbermark)from 2000 to 2004. Ihave seen andexperienced from closequarters the relevance ofthe Rubber Board in the agro economy of our country. Iknow that the job would bring with it many challenges butI am certain that I would be able to tackle them successfullywith the support of officers of this organisation and thegoodwill of the rubber farming community.India’s Rubber Board has been acknowledgedinternationally to be an outstanding success. Whatis the secret behind its success?

Right from the time it came into existence in 1947, theRubber Board has been working very closely with the rubberfarmers. This has ensured that problems of farmers areaddressed promptly by the Board. Further, there is excellentco-ordination between the Rubber Production extension,research and development wings of the Rubber Board. Thishas ensured a smooth flow of technology and informationfrom the laboratories and office to farms and back. Rubberwas initially cultivated almost entirely in Kerala and adjoiningparts of neighbouring states. The commitment of farmerstowards the crop and their enthusiasm to try out theinnovations suggested by the Board resulted in achievingexcellent results.

From the 1980’s onwards, the Rubber Board startedlooking at planting rubber in non-traditional areas as wellwith special focus on the North Eastern region of thecountry. This was done both to increase the area undercultivation as well as to bring economic property to farmersin these areas. This yielded good dividends and today, Tripurahas grown into the second-largest producer of NR in thecountry. More importantly, rubber cultivation contributedsubstantially towards eliminating the insurgency movementsin many parts of North East India. This was made possibleonly on account of the selfless efforts put in by officers of

Dr. KN RaghavanChairman & Executive Director, Rubber Board

in an interview with M Noorani

the Rubber Board who had to endure many a risk to reachout to the farming community in these areas.

The concept of Rubber Producers Society (RPS), whichwas introduced by the Rubber Board during the 1980s, is anovel model of farmers’ collectives. This has now spreadthroughout the country and is instrumental in ensuring thatdemands and concerns of the farming community areattended to and redressed promptly.

In short, the secret behind the success of the Rubber Boardis the outstanding quality of officers and scientists, whohave worked closely with an enterprising and hardworkingcommunity of farmers.What is the present organisational structure of theRubber Board and how does the RRII (RubberResearch Institute of India) fit into it?

Research and extension were the first technical and largestdepartments of the Rubber Board. Earlier, both departmentswere headed by one person (RPC-cum-Director of Research)for better coordination.

RRII was established in 1955. Rubber Act (1947) mandatesthe Rubber Board to undertake, assist and encouragescientific, technological and economic research on allaspects of rubber. RRII conducts research on basic andapplied aspects of rubber in three areas, namely rubbercultivation, rubber/latex processing and rubber productsmanufacturing.RRII has the following research disciplines andsupporting divisions at its HQ.◗ Crop Improvement◗�Crop Management◗�Crop Physiology◗ Crop Protection

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INTERVIEW

ACMBB (Advance Centre for MolecularBiology &Bio-technology)◗�Economic ResearchACRT (Advance Centre for RubberTechnology)Supporting Sections/Facilities◗� Statistics◗� Library◗� Instrumentation◗�Pilot PlantsIt has Regional Research Stations(basically research farms) in all majorrubber-growing states.◗ Central Experiment Station,Pathanamthitta◗ Regional Research Stations/Breeding Stations(Kanyakumari, Kannur (Kerala), Karnataka, Maharashtra,Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura)

A Central Quality Control Lab functions at the HQ. Also,there are seven Regional Soil Testing Laboratories.Can you tell us something about the new high-yielding clones developed by RRII during the lastfive years and plans for introducing new clones inthe near future?

Our clones have been the single major reason for theremarkable progress we have achieved in rubber productionin India. Our clones have one of the highest yield potentialscompared to any other rubber growing country. The RubberBoard has so far released seven high-yielding hybrid clonesto date for wide-scale planting in various regions. These areRRII 105 (1980), RRII 430 (2005), RRII 414 (2005), RRII 417(2009) and RRII 422 (2009) for traditional regions. A coldtolerant high- yielding clone (RRII 208) was released for theNorth Eastern region in 2016 and one more (RRII 429) isnow due for release for NE India.

We have brought out region-specific clonerecommendations that enable growers to choose the plantingmaterial most suited to their region.

We have, at present, a collection of 2,613 experimentalclones under observation of which 1,089 are under smallscale evaluation, 259 are under large-scale evaluation and852 clones are under on farm evaluation in various locations.

The process of evolving clones takes a minimum of 22-23years and the success rate is very small. The duration can beshortened and the success rate can be improved furtheronly by employing selection based on DNA markers for whichsequencing of the whole genome of rubber needs to becompleted.

Two hundred and eighty two clones are in the pipeline forthe final stage of multilocational evaluation. Out of these 109clones, seven batches are already under farmer participatorytrials in 51 locations. Thirteen clones are in the pipeline forNE region. A number of these clones have a potentialproductivity of 4 t/ha/yr.

Among the high-yielding clones in the pipeline are a few“dual purpose clones’’ (with good rubber as well as timberyields) that are also suitable for low-frequency tappingsystems.

Pipeline clones are also being screened simultaneouslyfor climate resilience.

Forty four high-yielding clones evolved in various countries

were imported since 2016 which are nowused in our breeding programmes forgenetic improvement of rubber.

International clones imported in the1980s were evaluated in multi-locationaltrials and three among them viz., PB 314,PB 255 and PB 280 are found suitable forrecommending for commercial planting.

The next series of RRII clones (RRII 500series) will be the best selected fromamong the first batch of the pipelineclones that will be ready for commercialrelease by 2022. The same year will alsosee the recommendation on the bestamong the IRCA clones introduced from

Cote de Ivoire and tested over the long term in India.Thereafter, every two to three years we will be able to releaseat least one new clone every five years from each batch ofpipeline clones that are now under participatory cloneevaluation in growers’ fields.

Cold-tolerant clones imported from China offer promisefor cultivation in the North Eastern region. So also, disease-resistant clones imported from Brazil via France, Cambodiaand Ghana offer tremendous potential for disease-resistancebreeding.

We classify our experimental clones into three categories,namely Category I (meant for commercial cultivation),Category II (meant for limited cultivation) and Category III(only experimental cultivation). We conduct our experimentswith a clone recommendation schedule (i.e. upgrading toCategory I) (after completing at least 23 years of field trials)which is as follows.What is the present status of NR production intraditional and non-traditional areas and scope forincreased production?

The details of NR production in traditional and non-traditional areas are detailed as below: Provisional

With 665,000 ha tappable area and assuming a minimumrealisable productivity of 1500 kg/ha, there is an annualpotential production of around one million tonne.

As can be seen, production of NR has diminishedsubstantially from the level of 774,000 MT attained in 2013-14. This has been on account of reduction in tapping ofrubber trees, particularly in the traditional areas, due to fallin price of NR. There is a grave concern in traditional areasthat rubber farming is becoming financially unviable due tothe fall in NR’s price and increased cost associated withmaintenance of plantations and tapping of rubber, whichhas prompted many of the farmers to stay away from theseactivities. This fall in NR’s production is a cause for alarmand is required to be arrested urgently. This is the RubberBoard’s first priority in the present scenario.Increasing productivity

It is to the Rubber Board’s credit that productivity of Indianfarms was the highest in the world during the first decadeof this century at 1870 kgs per hectare. This is even morecreditable when one considers the fact that productivitywas in the range of 250 kgs per hectare during the 1960s.This could be achieved only on account of the joint effortsof the Rubber Board and rubber farmers. Introduction of

The Rubber Board hasbeen working very closelywith the rubber farmers

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INTERVIEW

high- yielding and disease-resistant clones,employing correct and proper methodsfor tapping of rubber trees, rain guardingof rubber trees during rainy season andcontinuous training programmes aimedat increasing output from rubber farmshave all contributed towards attaininghigh levels of productivity.

Presently, productivity has fallen to1440 kgs per hectare. This is due to fall inrubber prices which has led to intermittenttapping and absence of rain guarding inmany plantations. Productivity is expectedto increase again from this year onwardson account of rubber prices lookingupwards and efforts taken by the RubberBoard to initiate tapping in untappedplantations.Approach to small growers

Small holders account for 92% of rubber farmers in thecountry and produce from their holdings amounts to 85%of total amount of NR produced in the country. Thus, theyoccupy the prime position in the NR sector. The RubberBoard has always worked closely with the small holders andrendered assistance both for improving productivity andquality of NR produced by them.

The concept of RPS was introduced by the Rubber Boardfor the benefit of small growers so that they could cometogether and get the benefits and advantages of collectiveaction. Services rendered by the Rubber Board towards smallholders are channelised through these RPS, thus empoweringthese collectives. Infrastructure for processing of rubber sheetshas been placed at the disposal of RPS through setting upGroup Processing Centres (GPCs). Further, marketing supportfor the produce is also provided by Rubber Board through themedium of companies set up by Rubber Board, along withRPS. These measures have worked towards the benefit ofsmall growers, who today get upto 98% of market price oftheir produce as farm gate price.Interaction with tire companies and consumersof NR

The Rubber Board recognises the fact that the NR-producing sector and NR-consuming industry are mutuallycomplementary. An active, thriving and robust NR-consuming industry is vital for maintaining good health ofthe NR-producing sector. Director General of AutomotiveTyre Manufacturers Association and President of All IndiaRubber Industries Association are invitees for meetings ofthe Rubber Board. Besides this, the Rubber Board workswith representatives of NR-consuming industries in area oftraining and imparting of skills as well as in commonplatforms such as organisation of India Rubber Meet. Thereis a constant and healthy interaction going on between allthe stakeholders in this industry.Labour shortage

Shortage of trained manpower for working in this sectoris an issue in India also. Efforts are taken by the RubberBoard to conduct training programmes for tappers who arethe most important element in this segment. This isundertaken as part of the Prime Minister’s Kaushal VikasYojana (PMKVY). The Rubber Board has in its employment

Rubber Tapping Demonstrators whoseservices are deployed throughout therubber-growing areas to demonstratecorrect tapping skills to farmers andtapping students.

Constant programmes for recognisingprior learning are also undertaken atfrequent intervals. Employing correct andproper procedures for tapping is ofutmost importance for improvingproductivity as well as for ensuringlongevity of the trees.Assistance of Central government

The Union government has alwaysadopted policies that encouraged NRproduction. This has been in the form ofsubsidies towards new planting as wellas for replanting. This was guided as much

by the fact that an overwhelming majority of growers aresmall holders as well as on account of the feature specific torubber trees which take a very high span of time (sevenyears) before becoming fit for tapping to commence. Thegovernment has also stepped in with required measureswhenever the prices of NR had fallen to levels that makescultivation of rubber unviable.Price patterns and predictions

It is now widely accepted that commodity prices follow acyclical pattern caused by disparities between demand andsupply. A phase of high prices would invariably lead toincrease in production causing supply to exceed demand.This causes fall in prices. The demand, which fell on accountof high prices, gradually picks up when there is excess supplyand consequent fall in prices. This leads to increase indemand over supply and creates next phase of high prices.Presently, NR prices are going through the phase of lowprices on account of the supply exceeding demand.

Making a prediction about future prices of commodities isat once hazardous and perilous. One can never anticipate theemergence of factors that can have a bearing on prices of NR.Hence, whatever predictions that can be made now can onlybe based on existing situation and this is liable to change ifany fresh factor is introduced. It is expected that the decisionsof top producers to cut down production would lead tofirming up of prices in the short run. In India also, the fall inproduction and reduced availability has resulted in pricesmoving northwards. It is expected that prices would startmoving up in next one-two years and would hit an all timehigh by mid 2020s.Export

India started measures to be a major player in theinternational NR market during the first years of this century.This proved to be a success and within a span of few years,Indian exporters carved out a place for themselves in theinternational NR market.

Presently, prices of NR in domestic market is much higherthan what is prevailing in the international market. Hence,there does not exist the possibility of export of NR from India.Whenever there is a situation where prices are favourable forexport, this activity would commence. The Rubber Boardinitiated branding of Indian Rubber for international market,under the brand name “Indian Natural Rubber”.

Small holders account for92% of rubber farmers

in the country

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COVER STORY


The remarkable growth of the Indian rubber industry toits current position as the world’s fourth largest, is dueto the tremendous contribution made by the country’s

Rubber Board. This government body was set up to promotethe development of the country’s rubber sector, which haskept pace with the ever-rising demand of thenation’s booming tire and rubber productsmanufacturing industries. In recent years, ithas championed the cause of the rubber-growing industry, which has been reelingfrom low NR prices and has prevailed on thegovernment to protect the industry fromlower-priced imports. The Rubber Board hasperformed as efficiently as the best of India’sprivate sector companies. The success of theRubber Board rests on its strong pillars::::: ItsChairman & Executive Director Dr. KNRaghavan, the Rubber ProductionDepartment, its R&D arm — the RRII (RubberResearch Institute of India) and the Board’sdedicated and knowledgeable employees.Over the last seven decades, the progress andgains made by India’s rubber sector have beenwidely recognised and appreciated. It was theenactment of the Rubber Act of 1947 by theIndian government and the subsequentestablishment of the Rubber Board and theRRII that paved the way for the progress ofthe sector. The most important function ofthe Rubber Board as defined in the RubberAct is R&D, which the organisation has been

carrying out with great success.The research contribution of the RRII, and the large-scale

implementation of their findings in the field, through the Board’sefficient extension network, have contributed richly to theIndian rubber sector’s growth. The high-yielding variety of

RUBBER BOARD OF INDIA

Dr. KN Raghavan, Chairman & Executive Director, Rubber Board

Rubber Board Headquarters (Kottayam)

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COVER STORY


IRSG Secretariat Group

rubber clones, RRII 105, developed by the Institute in 2004,became so popular among the country’s rubber growers, that,very rapidly, almost 90% of the area under cultivation wasoccupied by this single clone. The subsequent release of thenew RRII 400 series clones, with significantly higherproductivity compared to RRII 105, was another importantlandmark in the development of India’s rubber plantation sector

Being a renewable material, natural rubber (NR) is likely tobe in greater demand in the future due to its environment-friendly credentials, which can increase its acceptability overits synthetic analogues. However, there are well-definedlimitations in increasing NR production in response to growingdemand. The availability of suitable land for rubber cultivationis very limited, so it has become essential to extend rubbercultivation to non-traditional areas. In this context, thestrengthening of research efforts aimed at evolving rubbervarieties, as well as developing agro-technologies suitable forgrowing rubber under adverse climatic conditions, is of greatsignificance.

Estimates indicate that over 1 million hectares in the non-traditional areas of India — most of which is in the North Eastof the country — can be brought under rubber cultivation,with appropriate agro-management practices to reduce thestress conditions currently present in the region. The RubberBoard’s activities in the North East of India, particularly therubber-based rehabilitation programme for tribal shiftingcultivators, have proven to be successful and gained wideacceptance. With the expertise already developed by growingrubber in the North East of the country and other non-traditional areas, the Institute is likely to develop region-specificclones, as well as bringing about cultivation practices to makerubber plantations in such areas economically viable. This isthe best way to ensure the adequate supply of rubber for India’sbooming rubber -products manufacturing sector, as well as forexport, besides contributing substantially to the country’s socio-economic development.

Rubber: An eco-friendly treeThe Rubber Board says the rubber tree is hailed as the modern”

Kalpavriksha” — the wish-fulfilling, divine tree in Hindumythology — as every part of it has economic importance.Besides yielding rubber, which is rated as the most versatilevegetable product, the tree is an important source of timber,honey, rubber seed oil and oil cake.

Beginnings: December 1945The origin of the Rubber Board can be traced back to a

conference of rubber-producing interests convened by the then-colonial government of India in December,1945. They realisedthe need to provide suitable organisational support for thedevelopment of the rubber plantation industry across theworld. The consensus that emerged out of the conference wasthat a committee should be appointed to examine all the issuesconcerning the industry in detail, and to makerecommendations. The committee accordingly proposed thecreation of a Board, comprising members representing NRproducers. The Union government accepted the proposal andpassed the Rubber (Production & Marketing) Act, 1947, whichcame into force that April. The Indian Rubber Board was thusconstituted. By an amendment approved in 1954, the Actbecame the Rubber Act 1947 and the Board’s name waschanged to the Rubber Board.

The Rubber Act of 1947 was further amended by the RubberAmendment Act 1960, which made certain changes in the rateand procedure of collection of cess on rubber. It again revisedthe Rubber (Amendment) Act 1982, to allow the CentralGovernment to appoint a whole time Chairman for the Boardand an Executive Director on a whole- time basis (if considerednecessary by the Central Government) to exercise the powersand perform the duties delegated to him by the Chairman. ThisAct came into force in October 1982.

As per the Rubber Act 1947, the Indian government collecteda cess on NR to fund the Rubber Board’s various developmentactivities to increase NR production. The cess was initiallycollected directly from farmers but was then collected fromrubber product manufacturers from 1970s onward till it wasabolished in 2017 when the government rolled out the Goodsand Service Tax(GST). Previously, the cess was levied at therate of Rs 2/ kg purchased by end-users from the domesticmarket.

Rising pricesThe Rubber Board’s relentless efforts to drive up falling NR

prices and make rubber farming viable, especially for smallholders, have beeneffective. The long-drawnphase of falling prices,causing suffering forfarmers, seemed to endearly this summer. In April2019, the price ofpremium grade ribbedsmoked sheet (RSS-4) inIndia was Rs 128/kg onan average, which rose toRs 134/kg by May.Demand was also strongand by June, pricestouched Rs 150/kg for thefirst time in the past twoyears, though supply wasnot strong.

Earlier, small holdingrubber farmers had beenabandoning rubbercultivation due to poor

Rubber Wood FurnitureRain Guards

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COVER STORY


returns and falling prices. The devastating floods in Kerala in2018 and the subsequent massive outbreak of abnormal leaffall disease, caused NR production to fall 6.6% less than in theprevious fiscal. The Rubber Board put together a package ofproduction incentives to win back the confidence of the smallholding farmers. With the rise in prices, a large section of therubber growers were replanting rubber saplings by May.Production fell from 900,000 tonnes in 2008-2009 to 642,000tonnes in 2018-19. From about March to May this year, hightemperatures in Kerala’s rubber-growing areas slowed tapping.As the monsoon got underway in June, tapping activity againwas hampered. The Rubber Board encouraged farmers to setup rain guards. Around 20% of the untapped area, out of thetotal 550,000 hectares, has been readied to start production inthe 2019-20 fiscal year.

The Board has been focusing on increasing NR productionand making it more productive. It has strengthened its R&Dactivities and developed its infrastructure facilities byconstructing a separate laboratory building during thecommemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the RRII in 2005.These R&D initiatives of the Board are sure to boost the growthof India’s rubber products manufacturing industry.

OrganisationThe Rubber Board operates from its headquarters in Kottayam,

in Kerala, India’s major rubber-growing state. The Board’sactivities are available to rubber-producing and consumingcentres in the country and overseas through its network.

The Executive Director of the Rubber Board is assisted byofficers in various departments and divisions, to performadministrative research and development functions. Thedepartments of Administration, Finance & Accounts, RubberProduction and Statistics & Planning operate from the Board’sCentral Office in Kottayam. The RRII functions from a separate35 hectare complex situated 8 kms from Kottayam. Thedepartments of processing, training and technical consultancy

for product development also operate from this location.In addition to the Kottayam headquarters, the Rubber Board’s

establishments consist of zonal-offices, supervisory offices, 41regional offices, field offices, experiment stations, a regionalresearch complex, regional research stations, sub- laboratoriesfor rubber and rubber manufacture, a nucleus rubber estateand training centre, district development centres, a centralnursery, regional nurseries and tapper training schools.

Publicity & Public Relations DivisionThe Rubber Board’s P & PR Division functions directly under

the Executive Director, with the Deputy Director as itsimmediate head. The overall public relations and image-building activities of the Rubber Board include: the transfer ofknowledge, dissemination of information and spreading thenews of innovations made by the rubber-planting communityand rubber goods-manufacturing industries; the printing,publishing and distribution of bulletins, booklets, leaflets etc.to support the development of the country’s rubber plantationindustry; arranging conferences, meetings and seminars toeducate the growers on new developments in rubbercultivation and involving external agencies in rubber

development activities.

Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII)The Rubber Board’s research wing, the RRII (Rubber Research

Institute of India) celebrated its Golden Jubilee in Cochin,Kerala, in November, 2005.

The Institute’s eight major divisions are: Botany, Agronomy/Soils, Pathology, Plant Physiology and Exploitation, RubberChemistry and Physics, Biotechnology, Germplasm andAgricultural Economics, each of which is headed by a DeputyDirector.

Studies are undertaken on the rubber tree, its improvementand all other related botanical problems; aspects of latex flow,yield component analysis, tapping methods, chemical

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COVER STORY


stimulation of yield, growth physiology and environmentalphysiology; studies and classification of rubber growing soilsand investigations and nutritional and cultural problems ofrubber under varying conditions; study on the problems ofpests and diseases and their control; research on processing,chemical and technological aspects of NR; perfectingbiotechnological techniques for the generation of elite

materials and to attempt cellularmanipulations for rubber cropimprovement; the introduction,collection and conservation ofthe wild genotypes and oldercultivars of Hevea and theirutilisation for cropimprovement; carrying out ofstudies on all economic aspectsrelated to rubber plantations.

Most of the research findingsof the RRII have beeninternationally acclaimed andbeen widely adopted in India.Over the years, the Institute has

grown to become one of the largest of its kind in the world andhas initiated research programmes in almost all areas of NRcultivation and processing. The director of the Institute is thewell-respected Dr James Jacob.

Among RRII’s major achievements is the breeding and selectionof the outstanding clone RRII 105, which has an average yield of2 to 2.5 tonnes /hectares per year, even in the fields of small-holders. The clone has been most extensively adopted by growersin India over the past two decades and more high-yielding clonesare in the pipeline at the Institute. Adopting the shoot tip culturetechniques, RRII has seen success in the production of tissuecultured plants of high-yielding clones and has developed manyhectares using those clones. This is significant, given that othercountries have not yet perfected tissue culture protocol for NR.The RRII has also developed technology for somaticembryogenesis and another culture, while starting ondevelopments in transformation tissue with experimental genes,which can lead to the development of protocol for theproduction of transgenic plants of agronomic value. The Institute

has been assigned the pivotal role of co-ordinating an international researchprogramme on Tapping Panel Dryness -Brown Bast, a physiological disorderwhich remains unresolved despite eightdecades of research. The institute hasalready achieved a significantbreakthrough towards resolving thisissue through DNA studies, which showthe genomic difference betweensusceptible and tolerant genotypes.

Some of the RRII’s other noteworthycontributions include the developmentof an effective plan protection schedulesfor all locally-occurring diseases andpests; drawing up standards fordiscriminatory fertiliser applicationsbased on soil and foliar analyses; theformulation of recommendations forvaried crop exploitation systems; the

development of indigenous technology for various forms ofmodified NR and specialty rubbers transfers of technologieswhich is in progress and drawing up improved formulationsand processes for a number of products. The Institute’sdevelopments have found applications in the defence, ISRO andpublic sectors, and in private industries-many of these bringingabout significant import substitutions.

In 1976, the Rubber Board established a pilot research factoryfor the production of solid block rubber, undertaking detailedstudies on the production of Technically Specified Rubber (TSR)and to provide training to TSR producers.Research Complex for North East Region:

Headquartered in Guwahati, this research complexconcentrates on need-based research investigations relevant tothis region. It has Regional Research Stations located in Assam,

Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.The Central Experiment Station:

Established in 1966, this 254.8 hectare station is located inChethackal, Ranni, 50 km from the Rubber Board’s headquarters.Field experiments have been laid out in the entire area by theBotany, Agronomy, Pathology, Gerrnplasm, Biotechnology andPlant Physiology Divisions of the RRII.Regional Research Station, Maharashtra:::::

50 hectare located at Dapchari, about 145 km away fromMumbai, is used for conducting experiments, under both irrigatedand non-irrigated conditions.

Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII)

Solid Block Rubber

Dr. James Jacob, Director RRII

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Hevea Breeding Station:The RRII has established a Hevea Breeding Station made up of

two sub stations, one in Puraliar (Kanyakumari District, TamilNadu) and the other in Nettana (DK district, Karnataka).Regional Research Station, Orissa:

Extending over 40 hectares in Kamakhayanagar, in Orissa’sDhenkanal district, the Regional Research Station, Orissa, isanother of RRII’s experiment stations.Regional Research Station, West Bengal:

This station conducts location-specific studies for potentialrubber growing tracts in the northern parts of West Bengal. Thisstation is spread over an area of 47 hectares in Grassmore(Nagrakatta, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal).Regional Research Station, Madhya Pradesh:

Madhya Pradesh’s Bastar District is known to be suitable forrubber cultivation, though the area experiences stress situations.In order to evolve clones suitable for the area and to formulateappropriate agro-technology to counter the adverse conditionspresent, a Regional Research Station was started at Sukma, atJagdalpur in the state’s Bastar District.

Rubber Production DepartmentThe Rubber Board’s Rubber Production Department, headed

by the Rubber Production Commissioner, is responsible forthe planning, formulation and implementation of schemesfor the improvement and the expansion of NR cultivation andproduction. This department also provides an extensionadvisory service, supplying inputs, as well as demonstrationand training for small growers.

Key plantation development schemes undertaken by thisdepartment include the Rubber Plantation DevelopmentScheme; the production and distribution of improved plantingmaterials; advisory and extension services to growers;demonstration of scientific planting and production;supplying equipment and material requiring popularisationamong growers; the identification of non-traditional areassuitable for rubber cultivation and the planning of rubbercultivation in such areas; schemes for the improvement of thequality of small holder rubber; Block planting, Group plantingand such other schemes for the promotion of rubbercultivation among Scheduled Caste I Scheduled Tribemembers; the promotion of activities of self-help groups(Rubber Producers’ Societies) among small rubber growersand the training of rubber tappers.

The central office of this department operates from theRubber Board’s headquarters in Kottayam.Library and Documentation Centre:

The Institute has a library and documentation centre, witha collection of over 20,000 books and 1,300 bound journals.The library maintains a good stock of standards, preprints/reprints, photocopies/microforms and other documents andreceives around 550 current periodicals. Facilities and servicesare also extended to planters, manufacturers and othersconnected with to the rubber industry, as well as to students,research workers. etc. of outside institutions.Mobile Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory:

The Institute has five mobile soil and plant tissue testinglaboratories for on-the-spot fertiliser recommendations to smallgrowers, based on soil-and plant tissue analysis.Department of Processing & Product Development:

This department was originally established in 1977 as the

Department of Rubber Processing, mainly for providingengineering and quality control services to the crumb rubberfactories established under the Kerala Agricultural DevelopmentProject (KADP). The activities of the department havesubsequently been expanded over new areas and theDepartment has been re-designated as the Department ofProcessing and Product Development. The head of thisDepartment is the Director (P&PD) and there are two jointDirectors- the Joint Director (Engineering) and Joint Director(Factory Management) functioning under the Director (P&PD).The Department has five divisions — Engineering, FactoryManagement, Quality Control, Rubber Processing & MarketDevelopment and Finance & Account

The Department of TrainingHeaded by the Director, Ms. P. Sudha, it provides specialisedtraining in order to make availablethe sort of trained manpowerrequired by the plantation andmanufacturing sectors.

The Department has a smallcore faculty, which issupplemented by a guest facultyfrom other departments of theBoard, as well as from externalsources. The training courses areconducted mainly at thepremises of the RRII, but are alsoheld at outdoor venues,depending upon requirements.

Statistics andPlanning DepartmentThe Joint Director heads this department. The S&P Division

at the Head Office and statistical Unit at the Research Institutemake up the Statistics and Planning Department which is incharge of collecting basic statistics from rubber growers,dealers, processors and manufacturers. The statistics arecompiled, analysed and disseminated.

This department also makes forecasts of production,consumption and rubber stocks, consulting with the Chairmanand Board on quantities to be imported, exported or stockspiled. Perspective plans relating to rubber are made. Globaldevelopments in the rubber industry are monitored and advice

Ms. P Sudha, HeadDept. of Training

given regarding participation in international conferences.Additionally, the department conducts a census of rubber

plantations in the country, compiling results and computingstatistics. It provides assistance to the Project CoordinationUnit for implementing and monitoring the progress underthe World Bank Project. Assistance is also given to theResearch Department.

Technical Consultancy DepartmentThis department assists new entrepreneurs as well existing

rubber goods manufacturers and helps with the setting up ofsmall-scale rubber products manufacturing units. It providesinvaluable information including project profiles on variousrubber goods; technical bulletins on manufacturingtechniques; detailed project reports on obtaining financial

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Panel of Associates

assistance from financial institutions; market survey reportshelping entrepreneurs select products for manufacture.

The department also helps in testing rubber compounds/products in accordance with national and internationalstandards to assess the quality of the products. It helps indevelop new rubber products and solving productionproblems by visits to rubber units

Assistance is provided for the export of NR and rubberrelated products.Publications

The Board publishes books, periodicals and pamphlets topopularise the schemes for the development and progressof India’s rubber industry. The publications are also used todisseminate scientific knowledge on modem methods ofrubber cultivation and processing.Rubber Control

Rubber is a controlled commodity and hence itsproduction, sale and manufacture have to be carried outunder valid licenses from the Rubber Board.Licenses

Transactions in rubber are regulated based on licensesissued by the Rubber Board. Three kinds of licenses areissued, namely: License to deal in rubber (Dealers License),License to acquire rubber for processing and to sell processedrubber (Processors License), License to acquire rubber formanufacturing rubber products. (Manufacturers Licence)

India’s global rank as an NR producerAmong the 30 rubber-growing countries in the world, India

is the fourth largest producer of natural rubber (NR)accounting for 8.6% of global output. The first threepositions are occupied by Thailand (30.9%), Indonesia(24.5%) and Malaysia (17.2%).

India is also the fourth major user of NR. World’s toprankings in this regard are: the US(16.3%), China (13.3%),Japan (11.6%) and India (9.1 %). While all other major NRconsuming countries depend more on the use of syntheticrubber (SR), India relies largely on NR in view of its bettersuitability under the local conditions. The ratio of use of SRand NR worldwide is 61:39 while in India it is 20:80. (SR:NR)

Elastomers constitute the main raw material for themanufacture of approximately 35,000 different industrial,agricultural and household products in India. Tires and tubesaccount for the major share of elastomer consumption. There

has been a boom in the country’s automarket which has benefited Indiantiremakers, and sales of rubber goods hasalso soared. The country has beenexperiencing a major upsurge in thedemand for all kinds of elastomers.

Regarding yield per unit area, India hasemerged as the highest performeramongst major rubber producers with anaverage yield of 1453 kg/hectare. Highyields have served considerably inimparting cost competitiveness to IndianNR.Development Objectives:

The domestic production of NR iscurrently sufficient to meet 96% of India’sdemand, but the demand-supply gap has

been widening.Over the decades, the plantation industry has undergone

prominent structural changes. Till the 1950s, large estatesof over 20 hectares dominated India’s rubber plantationindustry, but now the sector is dominated overwhelminglyby small holdings. There now exist only about 535 estates,while small holdings number 1.32 million units and accountfor 91% of total area and 92% of total production.

The average size of a small holding is less than 0.5hectares, which is not ideal, but the outlook, education leveland industriousness of the average Indian small holder havehelped the sector’s productivity rise.

Looking to the future, the Rubber Board is a major assetfor India’s rubber dector. The improvement in quality of smallholder rubber and the enhancement of its costcompetitiveness are constantly being worked on.

With these goals in mind, the Rubber Board’s strategyincludes measures such as the replantation of old anduneconomic plantations with high yielding clones; theexpansion of the area under rubber cultivation — with afocus on identified non-traditional areas; productivityenhancement of existing mature plantations throughimproved agro-management and the quality improvementof small holder rubber through the promotion of groupprocessing, as well as better individual level processing.Development Schemes

The Rubber Board schemes include technical services,supplies, new planting, replanting, productivityimprovement, processing, marketing, training, organised self-help among growers and labour welfare.Advisory & Extension Services

A well-structured field establishment set up under theRubber Production Department provides free advisory andextension services to growers regarding all aspects of rubbercultivation and production. The Rubber Board has almost500 technical officers of various ranks, who are availableunder zonal offices, supervisory offices, regional offices andfield offices, spread over all important rubber growingregions.

Scientists of the RRII and senior technical officers fromthe Rubber Production Department’s central office providespecialised assistance wherever needed through visits andcorrespondence. Mass media, periodicals and advisorypamphlets/folders are widely used to educate growers.

Rubber Training Centre

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Production and distribution of plantingmaterials

The Board runs a central nursery and 15 regional nurserieswhich are used for the production and distribution of plantingmaterials of high-yielding cultivars. This helps to meet about15% of total annual requirements.

The Rubber Board distributes these planting materials atconcessional prices to small growers and at cost price toothers. Private, elite commercial nurseries are alsoencouraged.

Replanting and New plantingOrganised replanting

has been promoted by theRubber Board undersuccessive schemes from1957, and new plantingwas undertaken from1979.

Replanting has beencarried out in over200,000 hectares andnew planting in about200,000 hectares. Apartfrom free technicalassistance, over Rs 300crore has been given byway of financial assistance.

There is also an ongoingscheme for grant of assistance to small holders in traditionalrubber growing areas and for limited scale new planting by allcategories of growers in non-traditional areas, in addition tocash grants. There is additional assistance for the use ofpolybagged plants of advanced growth, allowable to both smalland large growers. Long term agricultural credit from banks isalso available.

SuppliesThe Rubber Board extends financial and other help to small

growers so they can obtain supplies of a wide range of plantationrequisites, such as leguminous cover crop seeds, low volumepower operated sprayers, rubber sheeting rollers and smokehouses. For non-traditional areas, there are also schemes helpingset up irrigation facilities and fencing.

Training and DemonstrationRubber Tapping Demonstrators working at the Rubber

Board’s regional offices give free demonstrations andtraining to small growers and tappers, in the correctmethods of tapping, panel protection and simpleprocessing of the crop.

Trappers’ Training Schools, which function underregional offices, provide eight weeks of comprehensivetraining in tapping and related activities to 100 traineesper school per year. Trainees are given stipends and freedormitory-style accommodation.

The Board’s Training Department conducts variedtraining courses covering all aspects of rubber cultivation,production, processing, grading and product manufactureon payment of fees at prescribed rates.

Co-operativesEver since the 1960s, the Rubber Board has provided

assistance for the setting up of about 50 rubber marketing co-operative societies, located in India’s key rubber growingdistricts and taluks. Many of these co-operatives have also beenguided in setting up and operating production facilities formodern technically specified rubber. It can be said that rubbermarketing co-operative are among the most successful co-operative institutions.

The Board has joined these co-operatives to establish andmanage an apex institution at Kochi, called the Kerala State Co-operative Rubber Marketing Federation Ltd. This organisationundertakes rubber marketing across the country and has grownto be the largest rubber dealing organisation in India. Its othermajor activities are fertiliser mixing and marketing, dealing infungicides and rubber processing chemicals, aerial spraying,production of technically specified rubber and rubbercompound in own factories.

There are over 200 village level multipurpose service co-operatives which, among other things, help rubber growersthrough the marketing of rubber, fertilisers, fungicides andother items.

Rubber Producers Societies (RPS)Headed by a President these are small, grass root level self-

help groups of rubber growers’ registered charitable societies,which help in the transfer of technology to members, assist ingroup processing, new planting, replanting and productivityimprovement, raise nurseries and distribute high yielding rubberplanting materials.

The Rubber Board supports RPSs by providing the technicalservices of field officers, supplying bulk procured agro-inputsat marginally subsidised prices to distribute to membersattempting to boost productivity, extending technical andfinancial help to setting up crop collection centers and groupprocessing facilities. Organised on a regional basis with equitysupport from the Board, the RPS have set up number of privatelimited companies which are successfully processing andmarketing rubber. They also deal in plantation requisites.

There are now about 1,500 RPS spread across India’s rubber-growing regions.

Insurance for rubber plantationsIn an attempt to help rubber growers and plantation

companies mitigate the risks of losses from natural calamities,

Intercropping with rubber (pineapple)

Rubber Tapping

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the Rubber Board has joined with two major Indian insurancecompanies, the National Insurance Co. Ltd. and New IndiaAssurance Co. Ltd.. They can provide necessary insurancecoverage against perils such as fire, floods, storms, landslides andhailstorms. The Board takes Master Policies and arranges the issueof individual policy certificates to participating growers. The Boardalso investigates losses, obtains monies for settlement of claimsand passes those to the insured.

World Bank-Assisted Rubber ProjectThe Rubber Board received assistance from the International

Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank through theGovernment of India to implement a Rs 4520 million, five-yeardevelopment project, from 1993. Apart from supporting ongoingactivities, the project is enabled the Board to substantially upscaleits activities and capabilities. The project components take care ofreplanting, new planting productivity improvement in smallholdings, processing of rubber and rubber wood, institutionalstrengthening for research, extension, training and technicalassistance and thedevelopment of women and tribal peopleamongst participating populations, especially in the cultivars

North-Eastern state of Tripura.

Labour Welfare MeasuresIndia’s rubber plantations provide average daily employment

to approximately 450,000 workers. Leaving a margin for smallholders operators, the vast majority of them are wage-earningworkers. A sizable section of them work in the organised sectorand are governed by such enactments as the Plantations LabourAct, the Minimum Wages Act, the Payment of Wages Act, theBonus Act, the Maternity Benefit Act, the Industrial Disputes Actand the Trade Union Act. There is also a large section of workerswho do not enjoy the protection and benefits of organised labour.

The Rubber Board is aware that the welfare of all categories ofworkers is of vital importance for the success of the plantationindustry, and has instituted measures to help their needs towardshousing, sanitation, medical care, education of children, savingsand insurance.

International AssociationsIndia is a member of two renown international rubber

associations — the Singapore-based International Rubber StudyGroup (IRSG) and the Association of Natural Rubber ProducingCountries (ANRPC) operating from Kuala Lumpur. The RRII hasmembership in International Rubber Research & DevelopmentBoard (IRRDB). Through these associations, the Rubber Board isable to maintain close contacts with other countries involved inthe rubber growing sector and to keep abreast of the latestdevelopments. The IRRDB sponsors collaborative research amongmember institutes. Valuable interactions and exchange of scientificinformation takes place through this organisation.

The FutureThe Rubber Board has been immensely successful in promoting

the interests of the rubber-growing industry in India and inundertaking measures to drive prices. It is constantly working onthe development of non-traditional growing areas in the country.

One of the major original aims of the Rubber Board at the timeof its foundation in 1950 was to ensure the country’s rubberproducts industry would be provided with its natural rubberrequirements. Despite the relentless efforts of the Rubber Boardto increase productivity, the deficit in NR availability in 2018-2019 was 560,940 tonnes.

Based on Rubber Board figures, provisional NR Productionfor 2018-19 is 651,000 tonne. Projected NR production for2019 - 20 is 750,000 tonnes, while the country’s total NRconsumption (provisional) for 2018-19 is 1,211, 940 tonnesand total SR consumption (provisional) - 685,000 tonne

India is No. 1 in terms of productivity (1453 kgs. yield peracre). This is a tribute to Dr. James Jacob and his team ofscientists at the RRII.

As the following table shows India is the world’s secondhighest consumer of NR preceded by China and followed bythe USA, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia & Vietnam.

In terms of NR production, Thailand is by far the largestproducer followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, China, India &Malaysia.

India is already the world’s fourth largest consumer of NR

and SR in the world, after China, the US and Japan. While it hashad to cede the fourth place position in the ranks of NRproduction to Vietnam, unlike the world’s other top four NR-producing nations ( Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam)India not only uses every tonne of NR it produces, but, in fact,has to import natural and synthetic rubbers to meet the needsof its dynamic industries. However, despite its impressive 1.7million tons total rubber consumption, India’s per capita rubberconsumption is only 1.27 kgs. compared to China’s 3.0 kgs.With rising prosperity and GDP growth rate of 7.5%, India’sper capita rubber consumption will grow steadily. Despite NRproduction estimated to grow over the next decade, the countrywill need to import more rubber every year. In this scenario,Dr. KN Raghavan is the right person to lead the Rubber Boardand guide the destiny of India’s rubber industry, as it edges upin the global rankings and makes its mark on the world.

(Courtesy IRSG)

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Indian tiremakers hitby higher rubber costs,

slower demand●●●●●Following two years of fallingnatural rubber (NR) prices in thedomestic market in India, there hasbeen a spike in prices during the firstquarter of the current fiscal year.While rubber growers are satisfied, thecountry’s tiremakers are facing notjust higher costs but also stagnantdemand for tires, due to the slowdownin auto sales during the first half of2019

NR prices have risen about 23%from January to the middle of the year.

Weak demand in the replacementtire segment has also hit Indian tiremakers. Companies exporting tires aremeanwhile dealing with weakdemand in Europe, preventing themfrom passing on any cost hike.Production cuts announced by someOEMs will also impact tire sales in thefirst quarter of the 2020 financial year.A few of these Indian tiremakers haveaggressive capacity expansion plansin place which will put furtherpressure on their profits.

Satish Sharma, President, AsiaPacific, Middle East & Africa, ApolloTyres Ltd, said that the slowingdemand from OEMs was beingbalanced out by demand from thereplacement tire market, especially forApollo Tyres. He said he was hopefulthat the overall demand wouldimprove.

Future Tire: ETRMAleader sees “exciting”times ahead for tire

industry●●●●●European tire makers are entering“exciting and challenging times” asthe industry moves to accelerateglobalisation amid pressures oncompetitiveness, believes FaziletCinaralp, secretary general of theEuropean Tyre and RubberManufacturers’ Association (ETRMA).

To stay ahead, the industry mustprioritise issues around supply chain,products, and manufacturingprocesses, Cinaralp said in a specialQ&A ahead of her keynotepresentation at next month’s FutureTire Conference. Key targets, she said,must include transparency in the

supply chain, sustainable sourcing,manufacturing 4.0, as well asoptimised environmental and safetyperformances. Challenges faced by theindustry also stem from automotivetrends towards e-mobility, addedCinaralp, noting that the globalvehicle parc was expected to bearound 70% ‘connected’ by 2025.“The current transformation toconnected and automated mobility isforcing the automotive sector as awhole to address fundamentalquestions with regards to fair andequal access to in-vehicle data,” saidthe ETRMA leader.

According to Cinaralp, the tireindustry has “the means andresources” to develop data-measurement and modellingtechnologies that inform drivers andauthorities about road conditions,danger zones, and traffic flow.TheEuropean tire industry, emphasisedCinaralp, will contribute to findinganswers to mobility andenvironmental questions, “tappinginto a knowledge base built up overdecades.”

Impact of US duties onChinese tire imports

●●●●●Those curious about the effects ofelevated import duties on a marketneed look no further than the USreplacement tire market over the pastfour years. Since the US governmentimposed duties in 2015 — rangingup to 100% in some cases — onpassenger and light truck tires fromChina, imports of passenger tires tothe US from that nation havedropped more than 80%, to 8.5million units last year from 50.4million in 2014.

As a result, the share of the USpassenger tire aftermarket taken bytires from China collapsed, falling to3.9% last year from 24.4% in 2014.The industry collectively is now

looking at the potential impactof antidumping and countervailingduties imposed in February on truckand bus tires from China. The duties,which range from 20.98% to63.34% countervailing and 9% to22.57% antidumping, took effect inmid-February.

The truck/bus tire duties are theresult of a petition filed in April2017 by the United Steelworkers

(USW) union, which representsworkers at unionised tire factories inthe US. The US International TradeCommission (ITC) voted in February2017 not to impose duties, whichprompted a USW appeal with theCourt of International Trade. Thecourt remanded the decision to theITC, which decided two months agoin favour of duties after re-evaluatingthe case. At this point, it is still tooearly to gauge the full impact of theITC’s ruling on the market andimporters of truck/bus tires fromChina.

However, there have been a fewmoves lately that indicate thecommercial tire segment may mimicchanges that took place in thepassenger tire market. Other recentactions by the Trump administrationon tariffs on Chinese goods arecompounding problems facingimporters and add a wild card intothe task of forecasting marketchanges. In fact, the imposition of ageneral 10% tariff in September 2018on $200 billion (Euro180 billion)worth of goods from China and thethreat of hiking this to 25% at year-end resulted in a spike in imports oftruck/bus tires last year from Chinato a record 9.2 million units. The 42%increase in shipments was inflated byperhaps 3 million units (or more) byimporters’ placing extra orderstoward year-end to get product on-shore prior to the threatened year-end bump to 25%, multiple sourcessaid.

While the administrationeventually postponed those tariffs theimporters’ moves provedprovidential when Commercehanded down in February itsdecision to impose countervailingand antidumping duty orders ontruck and bus tires from China,sources said.

The surplus inventory of these

Fazilet Cinaralp, Secretary general,European Tyre and RubberManufacturers’ Association (ETRMA)

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TIRE NEWS


“tariff-beater” imports on hand couldserve to fil l the gap, at leasttemporarily, for any shortfalls in newimports, sources indicated.

At this point, it’s still speculationas to how much the duties — rangingfrom 20.98 to 63.34% countervailingand 9 to 22.57% antidumping — willaffect imports from China, but thetrack record for passenger tireimports could be a blueprint.

Agarwal Rubber takesup Rs 225 crore

brownfield expansionproject

●●●●●Agarwal Rubber Limited, amanufacturer of automobile tires andButyl tubes, has taken up a Rs 225crore expansion project, which willenable it to double the existingcapacity of 70 tonnes per day.

Founded in 1986, the Hyderabad-based company, which has threemanufacturing facilities atPatancheru, Bollarum and Sadasivpet,all in Telangana, has commencedwork on the expansion project andexpects it to be ready by April 2020.Capacity building

Amit Kumar Agarwal, Chairman andManaging Director of AgarwalRubber, said that the expansionproject is being taken up on a 40 acresite adjacent the existing factory. It isnow underway at Sadasivpet, about70 km from Hyderabad.

“This will enhance the companymanufacturing capacity from 70tonnes per day significantly as we takeup phase I and Phase II projects. “Inthe first phase, where Rs 225 crore isbeing invested, the capacity will goup to 150 tonnes per day withcapability to double this in the nextphase,”Growing exports

Over the years, the company, whichstarted its business manufacturingtubes, had diversified and added tyres.Now, it serves several segments withinthe tubes and tire business andemploys over 1,700 people. Thisincludes off-road products, aircraft,both civilian and defence and somespecial category constructionequipment vehicles.

“Of the Rs 300 crore turnover,exports account for about 50 per centof the total business. If we expand the

manufacturing facility, we will bebetter placed to serve our growingexport business. The existing capacityis functioning at 95 per cent capacitynecessitating expansion,” he said.

For the company, the after-marketis a big business as it servesmotorcycles, mopeds and scooters,three wheelers, ultra light trucks, LCVsamong others. Apart from this, it alsomanufactures import substitutespecial tubes for aircraft and variousdefence requirements, he added.

Apart from existing range, the newfacility will enable the company tomanufacture tubes and tires for offthe road vehicles, agricultureequipment and radial tires formotorcycles.

Trinseo sees magictriangle in tires

‘evolving’●●●●●Shifting environmental, political,social, demographic and purchasingtrends are likely to bring aboutchanges in the ‘magic triangle’ whichdefines the key features of a tire,according to Trinseo SA.

With increasing global populationand more middle-income householdsentering the car market, cost is likely

to enter the critical parameter-set,explained Anamaria Cioanca, seniorstrategic global marketing leader forTrinseo synthetic rubber (SR) business.Furthermore, the drive for high fuel-efficiency, as well as CO2 emissionsreduction will keep low rollingresistance high on the agenda,together with sustainability, she saidat the Global Synthetic Rubber andTyre Market Conference.

Organised by ChemCourier, theconference focused on the regionaloutlook of feedstocks and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), withdiscussions around future challengesto the tire industry. “It is likely the magictriangle will evolve depending on thesegment and specification of tireapplication,” she noted in apresentation at the event staged in

Peter Taylor is ETRA’s new Vice President●●●●●Secretary general of the UK-basedTyre Recovery Association (TRA), PeterTaylor OBE, has been elected vicepresident of the European TyreRecycling Association (ETRA) board.ETRA’s nine-member board overseesthe development and execution of theassociation’s strategic priorities andfocus areas.

An industry veteran with over 50years of international experience in thetire industry, Taylor has specificallyworked in the tire recycling sector formore than 20 years. Prior to his currentrole at the TRA, Taylor was secretarygeneral the Imported TyreManufacturers’ Association (ITMA) for 35 years.

“My appointment to the board of ETRA reflects the need for acollaborative cross-border approach to pioneering sustainable solutionsfor the tire recovery sector,” said Taylor upon accepting the position. Thecooperation, should cover partners and stakeholders in the wastemanagement stream, including the UK and EU governments, to deliver “atruly circular economy.”

A partner member of European Recycling Industry Confederation(EuRIC), the ETRA’s objective is to ensure that recyclers’ concerns aretaken into consideration in the development of EU legislation. Theassociation, “is currently working towards the point at which recycled tirematerials may freely enter into the EU material stream, – without the onusof ‘waste management’ edicts.”

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TIRE NEWS


Istanbul earlier in April. For example,developed geographies will tend tofocus on low rolling resistance, tread-wear and sustainability. Here, nichesegments such as enthusiastpassionate drivers might addhandling as key.

More mainstream segments indeveloping countries will insteadconsider low rolling resistance, costand grip, she added. Cioanca went onto say that SR producers need to havea closer understanding of thechallenges the customer is confrontedwith and develop a “profusion ofsolutions.” For instance, while highlyfunctional S-SBR is generally a must-have solution to guaranteeperformance advantages, the material

is more difficult to process comparedto other solutions.

Trinseo’s response to suchchallenges and to mitigate higher CO2emissions generated by a rise in theSUV market, include a recently-launched multi-functionalised SSBR.The “innovative, easy-to-process”polymer is said to provide “substantialimprovements” in low rollingresistance for SUVs.

Benefits of Guayulerubber touted

●●●●●In June, at the US Botanic Garden inWashington D.C, Gene Lester of theAgriculture Department’s AgriculturalResearch Service (ARS) gave a talk onthe successful harvesting of rubberfrom the guayule plant.

The shrub is native to northernMexico and the Southwest. Unlikerubber trees which need to be expertlycut and tapped, the guayule ischopped to the ground and itsbranches crushed in order to extractthe latex. The plant then regrows andcan be harvested several more timesbefore depletion. Additionally, the

guayule shrub produces valuablebyproducts, including fuel.

ARS researchers joined other plantscientists and industry experts as partof a consortium, in a five-year, $6.9million, government-grand fundedproject, studying the feasibility ofguayule production. The effortincluded the genomic sequencing ofParthenium argentatum for use inpicking plants with desired genetictraits — such as high latex yield anddrought tolerance.

As part of the study, Ohio-basedtiremaker, Cooper Tire & RubberCo.made several hundred tires fromguayule rubber and tested themsuccessfully for performance andsafety. Chuck Yurkovich, thecompany’s senior vice president for

Chuck Yurkovich, Senior Vice President forglobal research and development of CooperTire & Rubber Co.Annamaria, Sr. Strategic Market Chief

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TIRE NEWS


Burak Ilgun of Kordsa updatesdelegates at the sustainabilityconference for the global tire industry

Conti-Kordsa tire-adhesive platform‘Cokoon’ ‘gains traction’

●●●●●Continental Corp. and Kordsa have reported strongdemand from companies interested in licensing their newresorcinol-formaldehyde-free tire cord adhesive system.The technology, dubbed Cokoon, was introduced by thetwo companies in March as a free “open innovation, opensource” platform to serve the industry. “Within a few weeks

of the announcement, morethan 25 NDAs were sent out[to interested parties],”Burak Ilgun, marketdevelopment manager,Kordsa, said in a jointpresentation at Future TireConference 2019.

Tire manufacturers,textile suppliers andconverters as well asmaterials research groupshave been among the initialgroup of companiesinterested in Cokoon, Ilgunadded at the event, whichwas held on June 11-12 inCologne.

Conti and Kordsa are

Conti’s Kramer explains market driversbehind RF-free tire cord adhesive initiative

offering thetechnologyas part of a“technologypool”: inreturn for thef r e el i c e n c i n g ,each poolmember hasto cross-license itso w nexisting andf u t u r eimprovementson the technology for free. The name Cokoon, Ilgunexplained, has been chosen to represent a“transformation” within the industry towards a morecollaborative environment.

The new tire cord adhesive offers a sustainablealternative to systems based on formaldehyde andresorcinol, said co-presenter Thomas Kramer, head ofexpertfield reinforcements & skim compounds,Continental Reifen Deutschland.

Both formaldehyde and resorcinol are underincreasing regulatory scrutiny due to human toxicityissues, Kramer told Future Tire delegates.

global research and development,explained that a modern radial tire has27 components, every one of which isdesigned to perform a differentfunction. He said every component wasreformulated to make it work, using theguayule rubber. Yurkovich confirmedthat if there were a supply of guayulerubber which was made affordable byscale of agricultural production andprocessing plants, Cooper would put itin their tires, but the economics andinvestments are not currently at thatstage.

William Niaura, director ofcollaborations and open innovationsfor another tire company, BridgestoneAmericas, said in an email that guayulewould supplement rather than replacehevea rubber. It will take until themiddle or end of the next decade forthe shrub to be farmed in sufficientquantities, he said, and furtherdevelopment is needed to market itsbyproducts to make it economicallyviable.

However, since some considerguayule rubber to be purer than hevearubber, it has been used to producesurgical gloves, which offer a superiortactile feel and don’t induce the allergicreactions of hevea.

Double Coin Thai tire plant running at fullcapacity

●●●●●Double Coin Holdings’s plant in Thailand is operating at full capacity. It isable to produce off-road and radial truck/bus tires, according to Tim Phillips,VP marketing & operations for Double Coin’s CMA LLC subsidiary inMonrovia. Opened inmid-2017 in LK-RICHestate in Rayong, theplant has the capacityto manufacture morethan 1.8 million radialtruck tires as well asmore than 50,000 OTRtires per year, CMA said.

Tires made inThailand were notsubject to the elevateda n t i d u m p i n g /countervailing duties associated with tires produced in China.

With competitors reliant on Chinese plants alone for production, he said itputs Double Coin customers “in an excellent purchasing position in the faceof product shortages and higher prices from China.” The plant, whichoperates under Huayi Group (Thailand), is a joint venture with Bangkok-based Tribeca Enterprise, a subsidiary of Thai Hua Rubber and the promoterof the LK-RICH estate. Shanghai Huayi is the parent of Double Coin Holdings.

The plant, according to Double Coin, is controlled by the manufacturingexecution system (MES) software and is integrated with the SAP managementsystem. Plans for expansion of the Thai plant have been initiated.

28

SAMSON MACHINERY


SAMSON MACHINERY INC TAIWAN’s PROFESSIONAL

MANUFACTURER OF TIRE BUILDING EQUIPMENT

President-Kunte Lin and Mrs.Manmei Lo

Samson is renowned not only forits tire-building machines butalso for all kinds of Machinery. Since

its foundation in 1975 by Mr. Kunte Lin &Mrs. Manmei Lo, Samson Machinery Inc. hasmade great efforts to develop the tire-building equipment field. As a professionaltire-building machine manufacturer, itprovides equipment, professional service andtechnical advice. It offers a full range of tire-building machines to manufacture varioustires such as bicycles, scooters, andmotorcycles; all-terrain vehicles; light truck,truck and bus; radial passenger cars;industrial applications such as agriculture;OTR and aircraft tires. Its main products alsoinclude band-building machines, differentkinds of servicers, building drums, andrelated equipment– all of which aremanufactured to ISO 9001 (2015 version),EQA, and CE certification. It is a globalsupplier and exports equipment to Asia,North America, South America, Europe,Middle East, and even to Africa.

Innovation is its core value and is also themotivation for sustainable development. It continues tocarry out a large amount of R&D activity, in order tomaintain a high level of innovation and provide saferequipment that has become its trademark.

Normally, considering the single stage TBM’s efficiencyand two stage TBM’s manufacturing advantages, tirefactories decide which kind of machines they need.

To provide better solution, Samson developed a two-stage fully automatic radial tire building machine. It not

only has the advantages of a single stage radial TBM,operating automatically at high capacity; but also has thebenefit of two-stage radial TBM, making tires with expanding-drum method. Using this machine, the operator can makehigh-quality tires and get high capacity easily.

Samson exports its tire equipment worldwide to majorcustomers all over the globe. In order to get more experiencein designing different functions of tire-building machines tosuit customers’ demands, the company cooperates with many

world-famous tire factories todesign the tire- buildingmachines they need. Samson’sphilosophy is to providereasonable price but hightechnology& quality TBM.

For further information,please visit Samson website(http://www.samson.com.tw)or e-mail [email protected].....

Innovation is itscore value and is

also the motivationfor sustainabledevelopment

30

MICHELIN NEWS


Michelin and GM unveil airless tireconcept as OE option

M ichelin, in partnership with GeneralMotors Co., is taking its development ofa maintenance-free, non-pneumatic tire to the

next level with the introduction of “Uptis” prototype.Michelin and GM presented the next-generation airless

tire/wheel concept on the first day of the Movin’On Summitfor sustainable mobility, in Montreal on June 6.

Uptis – unique punctureproof tire system – is based onthe fundamentals of Michelin’s Tweel tire/wheel product,introduced at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, according toEric Vinesse, Michelin executive vice president, R&D. Likethe Tweel, the Uptis uses resin-reinforced fiberglass spokesas load-bearing elements.

The wheel hub is integrated and the rubber tread ismoulded onto the circular platform that attaches to theend of the spokes. “Uptis represents progress towardMichelin’s vision for tomorrow’s mobility,” Vinesse said,“and also embodies our commitment to a better, sustainablemobility for all.”

Michelin and GM have entered into a joint researchagreement under which the companies intend to furtherdevelop and validate the Uptis prototype with the goal ofintroducing Uptis on passenger models as early as 2024.The firms have been testing the prototype on vehicles suchas the Chevrolet Bolt EV and disclosed that they intend toinitiate real-world testing of Uptis on a test fleet of Bolt EVvehicles in Michigan.

“General Motors is excited about thepossibilities that Uptis presents, and weare thrilled to collaborate with Michelinon this breakthrough technology,” SteveKiefer, GM senior vice president, globalpurchasing and supply chain, said.

U p t i s ,he said,is “anideal fitfor propelling theautomotive industry intothe future”.

From GM’s perspective,Uptis represents amaintenance-free productthat offers the prospect ofessentially no tire/wheel-related breakdowns.

Kiefer said GM is likely to introduce the product on alimited basis, targeting electric vehicles and fleets, whichcould also lead to development work on autonomousvehicles.

Eventually, though, GM foresees airless tire/wheelcomposites as compatible with its full range of passengervehicles, Kiefer said, declining to comment on the extentof GM’s exclusivity with Michelin on this product.

According to Michelin, the airless aspect of the Uptismeans drivers of passenger vehicles feel safer on the roadand operators of passenger vehicle fleets will minimisedowntime and improve efficiency.

Eric Vinesse shares the advantages toUptis at Movin’On in Montreal

In addition, thesociety at largeshould see benefitsfrom “extraordinary”e n v i r o n m e n t a lsavings throughreduced use of rawmaterials forreplacement tire orspare tireproduction.

Vinesse said theUptis tire/wheelassembly weighsabout 5% more thana comparablepneumatic tire/wheel assembly, butusing an airless tire/wheel product

eliminates the need for a spare, resulting in a net weightimprovement.

Michelin claims the Uptis prototype represents a majoradvancement toward achieving its Vision Concept, whichdebuted at the 2017 Movin’On Summit.

The Vision Concept introduced four key pillars ofinnovation: airless, connected, 3D-printed and 100%sustainable – entirely renewable or biosourced materials.

“Uptis demonstrates that Michelin’s vision for a future ofsustainable mobility is clearlyan achievable dream.Through work with strategicpartners like GM, who shareour ambitions fortransforming mobility, wecan seize the future today,”Michelin Group CEO FlorentMenegaux said. Accordingto Michelin, an airless tire/wheel product like Uptis

could lead to a resurgence in retreading of consumer tires,although retreading in this sense would involve 3D printingof new treads.

A flat or a punctured tire adds to the woes ofalmost every car owner or driver. To solve thisitchy issue, Michelin plans to introduce tires that

don’t go flat. With such tires, each vehicle will require onlyfour tires instead of five.

These are ‘airless tires’ and are puncture-proof. Unliketubeless tires that require air and can puncture, airless tires donot need air filling. The company has jointly developed ‘Uptis’tires with American auto-maker General Motors to be rolledout in 2024 along with its electric vehicle, according to FlorentMenegaux, CEO, Michelin Group. Uptis stands for UniquePuncture-proof Tire System. These tires can hit the marketbefore 2024 if any other car-maker were to be interested asthere is no exclusivity in the partnership with GM, Menegaux

Michelin, GM to take the air outof car tires by 2024

Uptis demonstrates that Michelin’svision for a future of sustainablemobility is clearly an achievable

dream

31

MICHELIN NEWS


Florent Menegaux,CEO, Michelin Group

said, responding to a query.The company, which

earlier unveiled anothersimilar tire that does notrequire an air refill or fixingpunctures, said this one isdifferent as it usescompletely differentmaterials.Decade-long homework

It took research anddevelopment of 10 years todevelop Uptis, the firmclaims. A large chunk of thetime was utilised in makingthe tire with the right inputs

and materials, so that it could achieve a good speed in whichcars run in urban areas, said Eric Vinesse, Executive Vice-President, Research and Development, Michelin Group, whorevealed Uptis at the Movin’On Summit. The company hasover 50 patents on the material used and its variousapplications.

These tires are expected to contribute towards sustainabilityby lowering wastage. Almost 200 million tires get discardedevery year due to lack of proper maintenance.

Lasts long, not a lifetimeMichelin and GM will test the Uptis later this year on a test

fleet of Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles in Michigan. The prototypeis re-engineered for today’s passenger vehicles, and well-suitedto emerging forms of vehicles and fleets of tomorrow —whether autonomous, all-electric, shared service or otherapplications. It will not require any maintenance from theusers to maximise their operating capabilities, the companyclaims.

These tires, while requiring lower maintenance, may bemore durable but may not be lifelong tires for cars. “We areworking on rethreadability; it can be re-threaded,” Menegauxsaid, who did not give specific details on the pricing of thetires. The pricing will depend on the scale or volume of thetires.Fewer tires

Asked if the tires, which are expected to be sturdy andmore durable, will adversely hit sales as people will probablyrequire fewer of them, Menegaux replied: “We are never afraidof innovating; I never worry about what we could lose whenwe innovate.”

That said, this is a new tire to be used in new vehicles, andfor usages that will be novel, he added. These details will onlyemerge over time, according to Michelin, which counts Indiaamong one of its fastest-growing markets.

Truck fleet owners may soon start

paying tire companies based on thedistance covered, instead of shelling out the

whole price for a tire upfront.Michelin, the French tiremaker popular for rating

restaurants, is considering introducing this method ofselling tires in India. The company is already leasing tiresto truck owners in several countries including the US, theUK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Such a mechanismspreads out the costs for the truck owners over a longerperiod of time.Data-sharing

To get this service in India, truck owners will have toshare data with Michelin regarding usage andmaintenance of the tires. Michelin enables this by sellingtires fitted with RFID chips, which are tags that canexchange data with a reader in a wireless manner, usingradio frequency.

By the end of this year, all truck tires sold by Michelinwill have an RFID chip, Florent Menegaux, CEO, MichelinGroup, said in response to a query. This will enable thecompany to make available such a service in India, subjectto takers.

“For trucks, tires account for about 35% of the operatingcost,” said SP Singh, Senior Fellow at the IndianFoundation of Transport Research and Training.

“The truck tire lease model is quite popular in Brazil,where it started over a decade ago. The leasing modelbrings down the tire operating cost by half for a truckoperator,” he added.Products to services

This also reflects Michelin’s strategy of becoming a

Michelin may look at leasing tires to Indian truck ownersservices company from a pure products one. The Euro 22-billion French tiremaker makes roughly 10% of its revenuethrough leases in different forms now, with the balance 90%coming from upfront product sales. It is now “pushingservices”, according to Menegaux.

Michelin customers, such as the aviation and racingsegments, already pay for tires based on usage. “We don’tsell aircraft tire - we sell landings...we charge per landings.We also lease tires for racing. Our top performance tires areMichellin property,” Menegaux said.

These payment models, originally introduced for expensivetransport segments like aircraft and racing cars, have alreadytrickled down to relatively lower cost segments such astrucks.

The company runs about one million trucks around theworld with service fees, said Menegaux, adding: “They justpay per kilometre, or per month or per week. We have suchservices in markets across the world except India at themoment.” To operate such a service in India, the companyneeds extensive details of tire usage so that it can forecastthe life of the tires, he further said. “We have to master thepressure maintenance and driving conditions. We don’t havesuch information available at present for India. In fleets, it iseasier to track these data.”

The CEO added that a rental and leasing model for cars ismore tricky as it would be difficult to track the maintenance.That said, Michelin has already started providing anotherservice to its car users who opt for RFID-enabled tyres.

Those users have a mobile app which tells the car ownersabout the condition of the tyres. Over the next 10 years,most tires sold will have RFID. Tire health is important alsobecause it helps improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles.

32

SCHILL+SEILACHER / STRUKTOL GROUP


Mrs. Ingeborg Gross

The entire SCHILL+SEILACHER / STRUKTOL GROUPis saddened by the passing of Mrs. Ingeborg Gross

on June 17, 2019 following a short illness. For many yearsMrs. Gross was the icon at the helm of the company.

Through her drive and desire to lead change, Mrs. Gross shapedSCHILL+SEILACHER / STRUKTOL into the international market leader it is

today.

Mrs. Gross will be fondly remembered for her love and dedication toSCHILL+SEILACHER / STRUKTOL as a company, brand, and family. She will

be greatly missed.

About SCHILL+SEILACHER / STRUKTOL

The SCHILL+SEILACHER / STRUKTOL GROUP was founded in 1877 andremains in private ownership. The Group operates six plants throughoutGermany and the USA and serves a number of important market sectors

globally with innovative speciality additives and products.

Editor’s Note: I had the pleasure of meeting the dynamic Mrs. IngeborgGross in South Korea in 1992. With her determination and passion, shebuilt up her Company to the truly global market leader that it is today.

All of us at the IRJ offer our sincere condolences to Mrs. Ingeborg Gross’sfamily and colleagues at Schill + Seilacher/Struktol. RIP.

ANNOUNCEMENT

34

COMPANY NEWS


West officials open firms new facility in Bengalaure

West PharmaceuticalsServices Inc expands

presence in SouthKorea, India

●●●●●West Pharmaceutical Services Inchas set up new offices in South Koreaand India. This is part of the company’smove to expand its presence in thesetwo markets globally. The firm’sexpansion in South Korea comes as aresult of an acquisition of thedistribution business of GIS Korea Ltd.,a privately-owned medical device andhealth care product distributor in theregional market, according to KarenFlynn, West’s chief operations officer.West has partnered with GIS as adistributor since 2003, and broughtthe office with about 15 employeesinto the fold to build its regionalpresence, Flynn said. Financial detailsof the acquisition were not disclosed.“We made a decision that we wantedto actually acquire the distributor, sothat West would have a directpresence with the customers in SouthKorea as that market is so important.The (South) Korean market is growingpretty rapidly with regards tobiopharmaceutical manufacturing,”she said.

West wants to be close to customersand provide technical consultation,building its presence in terms ofparticipating in professionalorganisations and talking directly withregulatory bodies in the markets thecompany serves. “We felt we coulddo that best by having a directpresence in the market,” Flynn added.

The office’s scope covers SouthKorea right now. West has other

offices throughout Asia. The SouthKorean market has been growingfaster than the average Westbusiness, which is in the 6-8%corridor. With its location inSoutheast Asia, it is an attractivemarket for West, and the acquisitionof GIS will give the company evenmore prospects in the region. Westalso has offices in Singapore, China,India and Australia, and partners withDaikyo Seiko Ltd. for presence inJapan. “We worked with a distributorthere obviously for a long time andhave tremendous respect for thepeople and their abilities, hence theacquisition. We feel like we canuncover even more value andopportunity for growth,” Flynninformed. “Anticipating that thisopportunity for West is going todeliver the value that justified theacquisition, we will be addingadditional resources. Right now, ourfocus will be on building ourtechnical service and scientific affairscapabilities to supplement the salesand distribution capabilities that wehave there locally,” she elaborated.

Though the company will beadding some employees, “it’s notgoing to be material to West overall,”Flynn said. The company employsabout 8,000 worldwide. “It’simportant for West because wewant to have a direct presence. Wego direct in most of the majorcountries in the world. We do usedistributors in some of the smallerregions where we operate. In termsof overall impact for West’s business,it’s still relatively small,” Flynnobserved.

Investing in IndiaWest also officially opened a new

digital technology centre in Bengaluru,India. The 17,000-sq.-ft. location willserve as a global hub of excellence forthe company’s digital andtransformation team, alongside teamsbased in Exton, Pa., and Eschweiler,Germany. “In this particular region ofthe world, there’s quite an investmentin terms of digital assets and skills. Weare building our digital strategy withregard to several aspects of ourbusiness,” Flynn said. Some of thoseinclude developing the company’sinternal infrastructure through SAPHANA, an enterprise resource planningsystem, and building better tools toimprove internal efficiency.

West has about 100 employees forthe site already, and the company willcontinue to add additional skills to theteam throughout 2020. “It’s a fairlylarge size, and we’ll be able to fit a lotof people in there. We do anticipate apretty significant investment in peoplethere,” she mentioned.Digital capabilities

The presence in India will bring aconcentration of skills that work hand-in-hand with West’s offices in Extonand Eschweiler to build out thecompany’s offerings and capabilities inthe digital space. Flynn said the marketis shifting to require a core capabilityin supporting a company’s digitalplatform, and West wants to have thatcapability internally. This means Westwon’t have to rely on consultants andexternal partners only.

Working from an internal positionallows West to “touch all three pillars,”Flynn pointed out. It gives it the abilityto find new ways for internal

West Pharmaceutical new facility

36

COMPANY NEWS


employees to work effectively andefficiently. It touches customerexperience in providing new ways tocontinually enhance that goingforward. And it gives West thecapability to work around Internetconnectivity and productenhancement in the way thatconsumers are working with devicesin daily life.

West also built an E-commercecapability at the end of last year aspart of which customers can go onlineand learn about the systems, whichthey need to identify the mostappropriate containment and deliverysystems, and place orders for samplesof those products. The Bengaluruoffice will be West’s third in India. Itstarted its presence there with a salesoffice in Hyderabad, and followedwith a manufacturing plant in Sri Cityin 2014.

Kordsa’s USD 18 millionworth additional

polyester yarn linebecomes operational

●●●●●Kordsa, providing reinforcementtechnologies to the global market, hadannounced a polyester yarninvestment in both Indonesia and

Lanxess realigns additives segment●●●●●Lanxess AG is rearranging itsadditives business into threeunits, up from its currentstructure of two, and has namedAnno Borkowsky to run thesegment.

Borkowsky’s appointment,effective from June 1, also giveshim a seat on the firm’s board ofmanagement, which will expandto five members.

The company’s currentadditives business will be splitinto two separate units – PolymerAdditives headed up by KarstenJob and Lubricant Additives ledby Martin Saewe.

The firm’s RheinChemiebusiness unit, also part of theSpecialty Additives segment, willremain as is and continue to be led by Philipp Junge.

“The additives business has become increasingly important for Lanxess inrecent years, not least because of the acquisition of Chemtura,” LanxessCEO Matthias Zachert said in a May 14 statement. Zachert, who previouslywas responsible for the speciality additives segment, said Lanxess still had“many more plans” for the segment under the leadership of Borkowsky.

Lanxess Chairman Matthias Wolfgruber described Borkowski as a “highlyexperienced manager,” who brings nearly 30 years of experience. He wasappointed to lead the firm’s RheinChemie business in 2004 until he tookover the newly-formed Additives business unit in 2017.

Anno Borkowsky: Lanxess AG

Kordsa Izmit Plant

38

COMPANY NEWS


Turkey which would enable 7,000tons of additional capacity in eachplant in 2016. Recently, Kordsa’s USD18 million worth investment in Ýzmitbecame operational. With this newline, equipped with the latesttechnology, a new generation ofpolyester yarn products with higherresiliency and better dimensionalstability will be produced in additionto the standard HMLS polyester yarn.

Kordsa Chairman Cenk Alper,Kordsa Chairman Cenk Alper,Kordsa Chairman Cenk Alper,Kordsa Chairman Cenk Alper,Kordsa Chairman Cenk Alper,wishing the line to be beneficial forKordsa and the Sabancý Group,underlined that Kordsa’s innovationstrength is an inspiration for SabancýGroup. He said, “When we started ourjourney in 1973, we had big dreamsand big goals. Initially, we had been acord fabric producer in Izmit, andtoday, thanks to our innovativetechnologies and our openinnovation approach, we havebecome a global company whichexports technology to the wholeworld, and sets its eyes on space. Wesupport our growth with investmentsin our main business line in Turkey.With these investments, and ourexpansion from tire reinforcement tocomposites technologies, we

continue to invest and produce in aneffort to be the driving force of theTurkish economy. Each passing day,we strive to reinforce a wider area andbuild a more reinforced future.”

CEO Ali ÇalýþkanCEO Ali ÇalýþkanCEO Ali ÇalýþkanCEO Ali ÇalýþkanCEO Ali Çalýþkan emphasisedthat the company is taking firm stepstowards building a second Kordsawith the strategic investments inthree business lines, and continued:“As the reinforcer of every one out ofthree automobile tires and every twoout of three aircraft tires, we toucheach corner of life, thanks to ourrecent investments. Today, with ourcurrent capabilities, we are able toreinforce the wings, hulls, motors,and interior of the aircrafts, as wellas their landing tracks. Our latestinvestments enabled us to strengthenour position among the largestpolyester yarn producer andprovided us another leadership inpolyester yarn. We sustain our globalleadership with our open innovationmindset and innovations that createadded value and shape the industrieswe are in.”About Kordsa

Kordsa is the major global player oftire, construction reinforcement andcomposites technologies market. Asthe worldwide leader of the tirereinforcement technologies market, itcarries out production through a vast

ExxonMobilintroduces newtire material at

Future Tire●●●●●ExxonMobil Chemicalintroduced a newly-developed inner linermaterial that cansignificantly improve airretention in tires at the Future Tire – Sustainability conference in Cologne.

Branded Exxpro 3563, the halobutyl rubber can achieve a 50%improvement in air retention compared to currently used materials, saidArancha Guisuraga, global market development manager, specialtyelastomer and butyl business ExxonMobil.

Customers can use the new product “as an additive or full halobutylreplacement depending on the performance improvement required,”Guisuraga told the conference.

The product, she said, will allow tire manufacturers to meet stringent OEair-retention specifications for advanced ICE, hybrid and EV vehicles.

The introduction, explained Guisuraga, reflects ExxonMobil’s drive toimprove tire-sustainability by maintaining low-rolling-resistance and safetyperformance during use.

area from USA to Asia Pacific andsupplies its reinforcementtechnologies to the whole world. Withits business processes all based onR&D and innovation, Kordsa has 770patent applications worldwide.

Covestro namesSucheta Govil as new

CCO●●●●●Covestro AG has appointed SuchetaGovil as chief commercial officer(CCO), to join its board ofmanagement from August 1.

Govil will take over from MarkusSteilemann, who has held the positionsof CCO and chief executive officer

(CEO) concurrently since last year.She will be responsible for the threebusiness segments of polyurethanes,polycarbonates and coatings/adhesives/specialities, Covestro.Additionally, she will lead centralmarketing, innovation management &commercial services, and the supplychain centres in Europe, Middle East,Africa, Asia Pacific and the US.

Govil has been working as a non-executive director at building productssupplier Eurocell plc in London sinceOctober 2018. Prior to that, she heldleading marketing roles at the lifesciences and material sciencescompany DSM in The Netherlands,and at AkzoNobel Decorative Paintsin the UK. She has also held seniorpositions at PepsiCo andGlaxoSmithKline in India and the UK.

Govil holds a post graduate diplomafor business management from theIndian Institute of Management inCalcutta and a BA degree in economicsfrom the University of Delhi.

Sucheta Govil

40

COMPANY NEWS


Orion Engineered Carbons strengthens its executive management team

● ● ● ● ● Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. (NYSE: OEC) (the“Company” or “Orion”), a worldwide supplier ofspecialty and high-performance Carbon Black,recently announced the following changes in itsexecutive management team:

Carlos Quinones has been appointed Senior VicePresident, Global Operations. He will join Orion andassume his role on June 3, 2019. Quinones has over25 years of chemical industry experience with ArcoChemical, Rohm and Haas/Dow Chemical, Praxairand Air Products and Chemicals. “Carlos has deepchemical manufacturing experience across a numberof operations including high-temperature reactions,waste heat optimisation and high reliability systems,”said Corning Painter, CEO of Orion. “Carlos willstrengthen our leadership to advance our plantproductivity and reliability to new heights,” headded.Pedro Riveros is the new Senior Vice President andGeneral Manager, Americas. He will join Orion andassume his role on June 3, 2019, following a longcareer at Air Products andChemicals, where he heldnumerous business and generalmanagement roles in North andSouth America and managed largeP&L’s. Orion’s CEO, CorningPainter, said, “Pedro is an excellentbusiness leader with a track recordof accomplishment in each of hisvarious positions. He is veryexperienced in businessmanagement and strategy,applications development andselling, and working acrossfunctions to deliver value tocustomers. He will bringoutstanding leadership to theOrion Americas team.”

Patrick Tuttle is appointed Senior

Corning Painter, CEO Carlos Quinones Senior Vice President,Global Operations.Quinones

Vice President, Global Human Resources. He assumedthis role on June 10, 2019. He was most recently vicepresident and chief human resources officer for ESAB,a global manufacturer of welding supplies, andpreviously served as vice president of human resourcesand strategic business partner for Reichhold LLC, oneof the world’s largest manufacturers of unsaturatedpolyester resins. He has over 20 years of experience inhuman resources, many in international roles. “We arepleased to have Patrick join our team at Orion. Hisexceptional background in human resources will beinvaluable to driving our strategic growth and valueenhancement initiatives,” said Corning Painter, CEO.

Current holders of these roles will be succeeded byMesser’s Quinones, Riveros and Tuttle, who will all bebased in Orion’s Principal Executive Offices in Houston,TX, USA. Dr. Claudine Mollenkopf, Senior Vice PresidentSpecialty Carbon Blacks, will be leaving the Companyto pursue other business interests. Her role will bereassigned within Orion.

About Orion Engineered Carbons S.A.About Orion Engineered Carbons S.A.About Orion Engineered Carbons S.A.About Orion Engineered Carbons S.A.About Orion Engineered Carbons S.A.Orion is a worldwide supplier of

Carbon Black. It produces a broadrange of Carbon Blacks that includehigh-performance Specialty GasBlacks, Acetylene Blacks, FurnaceBlacks, Lamp Blacks, Thermal Blacksand other Carbon Blacks that tint,colorise and enhance theperformance of polymers, plastics,paints and coatings, inks and toners,textile fibers, adhesives and sealants,tires, and mechanical rubber goodssuch as automotive belts and hoses.Orion runs 14 global production sitesand 4 Applied Technology Centres.The group has approximately 1,450employees worldwide. For moreinformation please visit the Orionwebsite www.orioncarbons.com.

Orion runs 14global

productionsites and 4

AppliedTechnology

Centres

Pedro Riveros,Senior Vice President andGeneral Manager, Americas. Riveros

41

COMPANY NEWS


Comerio Ercolemarks 100th year in

rubber machinery●●●●●Comerio Ercole has announcedthe introduction of an“innovative” four-roll calenderand its installation at anunnamed major tire maker inGermany. The launch of the newcalender comes as the companymarks its 100th year in the rubbermachinery sector. ComerioErcole was founded in 1885 and,after a first phase in the textilefield, developed its first rubberprocessing machines.

In 1919, the company’s firstcalender, for rubberising textilecord, was commissioned by amajor Italian tire manufacturer.

Comerio Ercole has sincedelivered more than 1000 calender ‘realisations’ all over the world and filed 14 international patents for relatedtechnologies. To mark its centenary year, the company has also published a book about calendering technologyand Industry 4.0 process developments.

42

BKT NEWS


Inaugurated on April 5, BKT’s newEuropean headquarters will remainin Seregno at the outskirts of Milan,

but within a building that has beencompletely renovated. In fact, we caneven say revolutionised. It is not justabout design, BKT also wants to conveya powerful message to the market. Thecompany’s goal is the coveted “NextLevel”, the code name coined by BKTfor its strategic project to conquerleadership. And this inauguration ismerely a great and historic step in thatdirection.

“Creating our new headquarters ismore than just an architectural project,for us it also has an underlyingstrategic meaning” explains LuciaSalmaso, CEO of BKT Europe. Sheadds, “We are constantly striving toincrease our presence and marketshare in Europe and, above all, to get closer to ourEuropean OEM customers. Our goal is to permanentlystrengthen the presence of the BKT brand with OriginalEquipment Manufacturers (OEM), and we know how toachieve it. We have already opened many doors with ourAftermarket references and continue forging ahead withnew opportunities. Our new headquarters has a key rolein this regard. We will now be much stronger than weever have been in every area and every segment in Europesuch as the agriculture industry, earthmoving, mining,port handling activities, gardening and all-terrain vehicles(ATVs). Now that we have one of the most completeranges in the market and an increased productioncapacity, thanks to our most recent Bhuj plant, we areready to grow.”

The European markethas proven to be essentialfor the company,representing 50% ofBKT’s turnover, whichsurpassed $900 million ata global level last year.

The new offices spanan extensive space of 500m2, optimised for thedifferent areas ofexpertise: technicalinterventions, logistics,original equipmentmanagement, marketingand corporatemanagement. Thi s is an

extremely rational and organised setup for the 15individuals in the BKT Europe team. The new, largerwarehouse, which was built to consolidate thedecentralised ones previously located at other sites, is nowin the same structure to refine the logistics flow.

The new structure also houses BKT Space, a uniqueinformation and technology centre for specialised tires thathas already proven itself to be a major competitivedifference-maker. There is nowhere else in Europe such asimilar centre, which is equipped with an auditorium andtraining facilities for up to 50 people that is perfect fororganising conferences, technical meetings and smallevents. With this incorporation, BKT has built an authenticTask Force Centre to address the present and, above all,

the future.We cannot

overlook the fact thatBKT’s strength comesfrom the team spiritpervading everythingthe company does, byactively andc o n t i n u o u s l yinvolving all itspartners, distributors,customers andretailers.

BKT Space isdedicated to all ofthem, to be usedfreely andindependently as aLucia Salmaso, CEO of BKT Europe

BKT GEARS UP FOR THE NEXTLEVEL WITH NEW EUROPEAN

HEADQUARTERS

New European Headquarters in Seregno,Italy

43

BKT NEWS


highly specialised Off-Highwaytire centre.

“We are at a watershedmoment,” states Rajiv Poddar,Joint Managing Director of BKT.“Here we can embrace marketchallenges and launch them allin turn. Our very first aim is tounderstand the priorities andneeds of our customers. We willbe able to do it best at this newspace, a totally innovative andtechnological workenvironment, which we will useto demonstrate that we arecapable of measuring up andeven more. We will prove thatwe are ready to reach the ‘NextLevel’.”

This has been a swift evolutionfor BKT’s European subsidiarysince it was founded in 2006 tooversee global strategic andoperational marketing and communications functions forthe entire BKT Group and manage OEM sales in Europe.

Professionals have been enriching the structureprogressively every year and have achieved salient resultsin terms of brand awareness, authoritativeness andpositioning, and also presence in Original Equipmentsegment and market share in the After Market.

BKT Europe has a field-ready technical team too, whichis capable of responding proactively with specific trainingon and for the optimal use of products, and reactively incase of any need for support and troubleshooting.

The new European headquarters is BKT’s next steptowards the ‘Next Level’, a carefully planned strategy forenhancing the presence of its brand and Off-Highway tires

in Europe to once again demonstrate the company’sunstoppable growth.

Join the BKT press room: www.bkt-tires.com/en/press-roomAbout BKT:

Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) the global OTR major isan India-based tire manufacturer. The BKT group offers alarge and always updated production range of Off-Highway tires specially designed for vehicles in theagricultural, industrial, earthmoving, mining, ATV andgardening sector. BKT’s innovative solutions designed forthe most differing user needs include more than 2,700products sold in over 160 countries worldwide. Visit thewebsite www.bkt-tires.com for further information.

Arvind Poddar,Chairman & Managing Director, BKT Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director, BKT

IRSG NEWS

Plastics Institute of Thailand is the eighth specialisednetwork institution under the foundationdevelopment industry. It is approved by the Ministry

of industry by the cabinet resolution on November 16,2010, along with the strategy of developing the plasticsindustry, which includes:Strategy 1: Technology and managementdevelopmentStrategy 2: Increasing marketing capabilitiesStrategy 3: Creating a plastic industry database

Therefore, it has a duty to support the development ofThailand’s plastic industry in the long term. This is alongwith the education and private sectors that cooperate withthe government in supporting the budget to implementthe project. The aim is to make Thailand’s plastics industrystrong and sustainable.

IRSG welcomes Thailand’s Plastics Institute as new associate member

DIARY

44


AUGUST 2019

RUBEXPO◗ 09-11 August , BMICH, Colombo –Organised by Smart Expos & Fairs IndiaContact: Sudha. V, Project ManagerTel: +91 9952966152email: [email protected]:www.rubexpo.com

SEPTEMBER 2019

◗RubberTech China 201918-20 September, Shanghai newInternational Expo Centre, Shanghai,ChinaContact: CURC - Ella Liu / Willow SunTel:Tel:Tel:Tel:Tel: +86-10-58650277Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax: +86-10-58650288Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]:Web:Web:Web:Web: http://en.rubbertech-expo.com

◗ Tyrexpo India 201926 - 28 September, Chennai TradeCentre,Chennai, IndiaContact: Rahul BhatiaTel. :Tel. :Tel. :Tel. :Tel. : +91 8527765556Email: Email: Email: Email: Email: [email protected]: www.tyrexpoindia.com

OCTOBER 2019

◗ Arab Rubber Expo 201909-10 October, Sharjah Expo Centre,UAEContact: Peram Prasada Rao -TechnoBizTel:Tel:Tel:Tel:Tel: +66 2 933 0077Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax: +66 2 955 9971Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]:Web:Web:Web:Web:www.rubbertechnology-expo.com

◗◗◗◗◗Traction Summit 201916-18 October, San Jose CaliforniaContact :Ms. Shelby HeitzenraterMarketing Specialist - Smithers InformationTel : 330 762 7441 ext 1138email : [email protected]: www.tractionsummit.com

◗◗◗◗◗ K - 201916-23 October: Duesseldorf,GermanyContact: Desislava Angelova / Sabrina GiewaldTel:Tel:Tel:Tel:Tel: +49-211-4560 240 /Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax:+49-211-4560 8548Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]@messe-duesseldorf.de

NOVEMBER 2019

◗TPE & Silicone Elastomers WorldSummit 201926-27 November: Austria Trend HotelSavoyen ViennaContact:Contact:Contact:Contact:Contact: Katie McGowanTel: Tel: Tel: Tel: Tel: +44 (0) 1372 802000Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]

DECEMBER 2019

◗ India Rubber & Tyre Show 201920-22 December, Gujarat UniversityExhibition Centre, AhmedabadOrganised by Rubber Manufacturer’sWelfare Association,Contact: Yashodhar Kahate,Honarary SecretaryTel: +91 9227972801email: [email protected]:indianrubbershow.co.in

JANUARY 2020

◗ RubberTech India 20208-10 January, Chennai Trade Centre,Chennai, India.Contact: Willow Sun (Ms)Senior Project ManagerChina United Rubber Corporation,ChinaTel : 0086 153779792Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]:Web:Web:Web:Web: www.rubbertech-expo.com

DIARY OF WORLD EVENTS

MARCH 2020

◗ Global Rubber, Latex & Tyre Expo202011-13 March 2020, Bangkok InternationalTrade &Exhibition Centre, Bangkok, ThailandContact: Peram Prasada Rao - TechnoBizTel:Tel:Tel:Tel:Tel: +66 2 933 0077Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax: +66 2 955 9971Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]:Web:Web:Web:Web: www.rubbertechnology-expo.com

APRIL 2020

◗Tyrexpo Africa 2020April 2020 at GallagherConvention Centre, Hall 2Johannesburg, South AfricaContact: Zann Lee (Ms)Manager (Events Marketing),SingEx ExhibitionsTel : DID (65) 6403 2531Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]:Web:Web:Web:Web: www.singex.com

SEPTEMBER 2020

10th International RubberGlove Conference & Exhibition08 – 10 September: Kuala LumpurConvention Centre, MalaysiaContact:Contact:Contact:Contact:Contact: Desmond Tang, MARGMATel:Tel:Tel:Tel:Tel: +603 7727 3197Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax:Fax: +603 7727 3191Email:Email:Email:Email:Email: [email protected]:Web:Web:Web:Web: www.margma.com.my

OCTOBER 2020

◗IRC 202015 - 17 October, Chennai Trade Centre,Chennai, IndiaContact:KJ Janakar, Chairman, IRI C/o.Helar Marketing & ConsultantsPvt. Ltd.Contact: 044 24480324EmailEmailEmailEmailEmail : : : : : [email protected]: www.iri.net.in

46

EXHIBITION & EVENTS


Smithers Rapra hosts RecoveredCarbon Black inaugural conference

Smithers Rapra organised their inaugural RecoveredCarbon Black (rCB) conference in Berlin on May 21and 22. The two-day event was designed to provide

a platform for experts and innovators who research,develop and commercialise recovered carbon black. Over150 delegates attended from across the supply chain toget a comprehensive overview of the market.

“A two-day event focused on the latest industrydevelopments, and a chance to get to know ourindustry peers. Never before have I seen this many rCBexperts together in one single room” - Black BearCarbon said.

Day one of the conference covered sustainable tiresand rubber products, market trends, tire pyrolysis plantoperations and an innovation forum about ash leaching,activation and microwave. Delegates were equippedwith key insights from industry experts includingMichelin, Semperit AG-Holding, Wolfersdorff

Consulting, Hexpol, MAKROchem and many more.“The RCB 2019 is the most significant solidifying event

the rCB Industry so far” - G3C Technologies Corporationsaid.

Day two of the conference moved onto testing,technical opportunities, tire pyrolysis plant operationsand closed with a business forum, focussing onstrategies, investment and funding.

“Amazing first “big” event for the rCB. We found theevent to meet all our expectations and look forward toparticipate in upcoming event for the new commodityrCB” - Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB said.

The event also offered numerous networking breaksand an exclusive drinks reception for new and old peersto continue discussions in a more relaxed environment.

For more information about the conference, log on towww.carbonblackworld.com/recovered

48

NATURAL RUBBER


NR consumptionincreased by 9%:

Dr. KN Raghavan��The consumption of Natural rubber(NR) in India increased by 9 % duringthe last fiscal (2018-19), said Dr. KNRaghavan IRS, Chairman andExecutive Director, RubberBoard. He was deliveringthe presidential address inthe 178th meeting of theRubber Board held atKottayam. He said that theconsumption of NRincreased from1111,2210tonne in 2017-18 to 1211,940tonne in 2018-19. According toprovisional estimates, NR production

in 2018-19 was 648,000 tonne, 6.6%lower than the previous fiscal.Production of NR was 694,000 tonnein 2017-18 and the initial projectionfor 2018-19 was 730,000 tonne.However, production of NR duringthe last fiscal was below expectedlevels owing to excessive rains andfloods and the consequent high levelof incidence of Abnormal Leaf Falldisease. Production of NR for thecurrent fiscal (2019 – 20) is projectedat 750,000 tonne taking intoconsideration the increase in tappablearea from 640,000 ha in 2018-19 to665,000 ha in 2019-20, measuresbeing taken by the Board to increaserubber production and continuationof the Rubber Production IncentiveScheme (RPIS) in Kerala in 2019-20.Consumption of NR is projected at1270,000 tonne in 2019-20

supported by economic growth andhigher import duty and Anti-dumpingduty on tyres.

Import of NR increased by 24% in2018-19 as compared to the previousyear and 70% of the import wasthrough duty paid channel. As in the

previous years, 81% of import ofNR was in the form of block

rubber. The major factorsbehind the import are thedifferences in pricesbetween domestic sheetrubber and international

block rubber and shortage ofrubber in the domestic market.

Import of NR during the currentfiscal was 582,381 tonne and it isprojected at 500,000 tonne in 2019-20. The export during 2018 -19 was

4551 tonne. The stock at the end ofMarch 2019 was estimated as 287,000tonne. However, the volume oftradable stock of NR was only 127,000tonne, he informed the Board.According to Association of NaturalRubber Producing Countries(ANRPC) World NR production in2019 is anticipated to be 14.08 milliontonne. As per the report ofInternational Rubber Study Group(IRSG) world production of NRincreased by 2.4% and consumptionincreased by 4.6% in 2018 with asurplus of 56,000 tonne. NRproduction in 2018 had contractedin India, Indonesia, Malaysia and SriLanka, which was more than offsetby strong output expansion inThailand, Cambodia, Myanmar andIvory Coast. Global NR exports growthwas flat in 2018 owing todeceleration in the pace of growth in

import demand mainly from China.Production and consumption of NRin 2019 are estimated at 14.26 and14.23 million tonne respectively witha surplus of 30,000 tonne. Accordingto IRSG, synthetic rubber (SR)production and consumptionincreased only by 1.0% and 0.7%respectively in 2018. Consumption ofSR in 2019 is projected to grow by2.4%, added Chairman.A Task Forceon Rubber Sector (TFRS) wasconstituted in March 2018, and itsTerms of Reference includedrecommending a Draft NationalRubber Policy. It was chaired by ChiefSecretary of Kerala and co-chaired byChief Secretary of Tripura. It submittedits report in July 2018 after severalsittings and series of consultations.The National Rubber Policy 2019(NRP-2019) was finalised anduploaded in the website of theDepartment of Commerce in March2019.The Rubber Board conducted amass contact programme, with thesupport of Rubber Producer’s Societies(RPSs) during February and March2019 with the theme ‘Holisticapproach for sustainable rubbercultivation’. The campaign was aspecial drive for identifying untappedrubber holdings and promotingadoption of good agriculturalpractices to enhance production andproductivity and to reduce cost ofproduction. A new high yielding, coldand disease tolerant hybrid clone viz.,RRII 429 of rubber suitable forcommercial cultivation in NorthEastern states is now ready for releaseafter completing all mandatory fieldevaluations, Chairman informed theBoard. The Chairman also gavecertificates of appreciation to MathewJoseph and Arunabha Majumdar,Asst. Development Officers of theRubber Board for their meritoriousservice and innovations made in thefield of NR processing.

Rubber in revival modeas prices rise at last

��After a long-drawn negative phase,the prospects of NR seem to havebrightened as prices have been risingin the early months of the currentfiscal year and the farming communityis reportedly gearing up to increaseproduction.

“The present surge in prices at ¹ 144/

Dr. KN Raghavan, Chairman and Executive Director, Rubber Board addressing the 178th meeting ofRubber Board, held at Kottayam

49

NATURAL RUBBER


kg for RSS IV grade vis-a-vis Rs.128/kg in the corresponding period lastyear has revived the hopes of farmers.This could help achieve an additionalproduction of about two lakh tonnesthis year,” said George Valy, Presidentof the Kottayam Rubber DealersFederation. Last year’s productionwas 6.4 lakh tonnes.

The process of installing rain-guardsis under way in most of small andmarginal holdings. Around 20% ofthe untapped area, out of the total5.5 lakh hectares, has been madeready to start production this fiscalyear. “Those who abandoned tappingdue to low prices are coming backand the emerging trend would pushup production to 7-8 lakh tonnes thisyear,” Valy said.

The additional two lakh tonnes ofproduction would itself translate intoa revenue of Rs.3,000 crore to rubberfarmers in the current year, he added.Farmers sitting on stocks

However, Valy said the rising priceshave resulted in supply constraints inthe market as farmers are holding backtheir stocks in anticipation of furtherincrease in prices. Availability willimprove once the price touches ¹ 150/kg, he felt. The present climate is idealto start tapping as many of thegrowing regions have received one

or two summer showers, he added.According to official sources, the

present surge in price can be seen asshort-term, positive market sentimentin the wake of concerns over domesticsupply in China due to a drought inYunnan province. Besides, China hasannounced it is levying an importduty on mixture rubber at the samerate as applicable to natural rubber.Currently, import duty on mixture

rubber is nil. Chinese importers havebeen importing mixture rubber inlarge quantities before the dutycomes into effect.

Apart from this, Thailand’s decisionto cut NR exports and the rise in crudeoil prices are also reasons for the risingrubber price, the sources added.

ATMA unhappyHowever, Rajiv

Budhraja, DirectrorG e n e r a l ,Automotive TyreM a n u f a c t u r e r sAssociation, saidarrivals in the markethave been poor inApril and May andtire companies havenot been able tomeet even a smallpercentage of theirrequirement despite

picking the entire domestic quantity,thus increasing dependence onimports. Production has entered theoff-season phase and understandably,tapping has come down in Kerala inview of the extreme heat.

It is highly unlikely that domesticproduction and availability willsignificantly improve this year.Quoting Rubber Board data, he said30% of the tapping area remainsuntapped in Kerala. In fact, the tire

industry expects rubber production tobe, at best, at the same level as lastyear unless production in the North-East comes up in a significant way,he said.

Prices are determined by demand-supply and that underlies the currentpricing trend, he added.

Anu V Pai, Research Analyst, GeojitFinancial Services Ltd, said the pricein the spot market is at its highest levelin more than two years. In the futuresmarket, it is hovering around multi-month highs.

However, in the internationalmarket, on the trendsetting TOCOMExchange, November futures are seenin consolidation mode.

Looking ahead, even as a positivebias prevails, a seasonal shift is set tohappen. While the lean productionseason is set to end soon, the arrival,intensity and distribution of the SouthWest monsoon will play a crucial rolein setting the price direction in comingdays.Overseas market factors

Apart from this, cues from theoverseas market will also have aconsiderable impact. Movement incrude oil prices and developments inUS-China trade talks will influenceoverall market sentiments, she said.

In the domestic market, consideringthe present conditions, the

Indications of revival in India’s NR production��The Rubber Board of India says that natural rubber (NR) production in India isset to increase by about 4% due to an increase in farming area, followingmonths of falling production. It has estimated that production of the commoditywill increase by 10% to 750,000 tonnes in the fiscal year 2020, as compared to648,000 tonnes in the last fiscal.

KN Raghavan, Chairman and Executive Director of the Rubber Board, recentlyexplained that the country’s rubber farming area has increased from 640,000hectares in the fiscal year 2019 to 665,000 hectares in the ongoing fiscal year.This expansion can be attributed largely to the measures adopted by the stategovernment of Kerala (India’s leading rubber-growing state) to boost production,and the continuation of the Rubber Production Incentive Scheme in state in2019-20.

He added that NR consumption in India is projected at 1270,000 tonnes in2019-20, driven by economic growth and higher import duty and anti-dumpingduty on tires.

Based on the Rubber Board’s provisional estimates by the board, rubber outputwas 648,000 tonnes in FY 2019- almost 7% lower than during the previousfiscal year. The earlier projection for the financial year was 730,000 tonnes.

The devastation caused by the floods in 2018, following by emerging droughtconditions in Kerala, badly impacted cultivation during the last fiscal year.

During the financial year 2019, NR imports rose by 24% in India, due to theprice difference between domestic sheet rubber and international block rubberand the scarcity of rubber in the domestic market.

50

NATURAL RUBBER


India’s NR prices seen rising��Despite estimates of higher NR production in India in 2019-20, domestic

prices of the commodity were expected to rise in the six weeks from mid-June.Prices have been driven by the continued tight supply due to excessive rainsand floods in Kerala last year. The rise in prices of the commodity on the globalmarket is also seen supporting the domestic uptick in prices.

In the spot markets of Kerala, NR priceswere seen rising by 7-8% from the currentlevel to 160-165 Rs/kg in the coming fourto six weeks from mid-June. Prices hit anover two-year high, with the widely tradedRSS-4 variety being sold at 151-153 rupees/kg in Kochi and Kottayam, a rise of Rs 1-2from the previous close.

Rubber production in Kerala, India’slargest rubber-growing state, was affectedlast year due to the excessive rains andfloods, which led to spread of disease acrossplantations, which caused the abnormalfall of leaves and affected production.

India’s NR output for 2018-19 is down6.6% from the previous fiscal year at648,000 tonnes. K N Raghavan, Chairman

and Executive Director of India’s Rubber Board projects production of about750,000 tonnes for 2019-20, while consumption is projected at 1.27 milliontonnes during the period. For 2018-19, NR imports rose 24% to 582,000 tonnesbut are expected to fall to 500,000 tonnes in FY20.

Global NR production fell 5.2% year on year to 2.99 million tonnes in January-March 2019, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries(ANRPC).

Higher crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) arealso seen supporting rubber contracts on TOCOM.

psychological level of Rs.150 a kgcould act as a major resistance abovewhich, sentiments could improve.

On the lower side, the Rs.120-125a kg price band is seen as a crucialsupport. On TOCOM, movement hasbeen restricted to the 180-196 yen perkg range for the past few weeks. Avoluminous breakout on either sidecould set a fresh direction in the nearterm, she added.

Liberia: West Africa’semerging RSS

processing hub��GROW Liberia, a leading businessand investment advisory agency in thecountry, along with Liberia’s NationalInvestment Commission, hosted aninvestment summit in June. Thepurpose of the summit was toshowcase Liberia’s emergence as aburgeoning hub for RSS rubberprocessing in West Africa.

Liberia enjoyed numerousadvantages as a RSS producer in theregion, with almost a hundred yearsof experience as one of Africa’sleading NR producers, over 100,000hectares of rubber plantations undercultivation. The country’s technicalcolleges offer courses in rubbercultivation and processing to ayouthful workforce.

For Liberia’s rubber sector, RSSrepresents an alternative, less capital-intensive form of processing, withgreater potential for value addition.Since 2015, an RSS processing facilityhas operated in Liberia’s MargibiCounty and starting the middle of thisyear, two further facilities are nearingcompletion along the country’s rubberfarming belt. RSS production in thecountry is expected to exceed 1,500tonnes per year in 2020.

This investment summit held byGROW Liberia and Liberia’s NationalInvestment Commission broughttogether businesses, investors,government agencies, financialinstitutions, and developmentprograms to discuss the investmentopportunity for RSS. Experiences ofthe first Liberian RSS facilities wereshared and connections formedwhich enabled further investment andhelped promote the country as aburgeoning hub for RSS processing

in West Africa.

Indian plantationindustry head presents

budget wishlist toIndian govt

��The plantation sector in India hasasked the central government toimpose a safeguard duty on naturalrubber (NR) imports, to protect thelivelihood of small producers as wellas to maintain domestic NRproduction capacity.

In the pre-budget memorandum tothe country’s Finance Minister for theincorporation in the Union Budget2019-20, Upasi (the United PlantersAssociation of South India)complained that increased NR importsand unremunerative prices have forcedsome producers to abandon rubbertapping. AE Joseph,president of Upasi,warned that if thissituation continues,India will be fully

dependent on foreign countries for thisstrategic raw material.

NR imports have risen from 77,762tonnes in 2008-09 to 582,351 tonnesduring 2018-19. Imports as apercentage of production have goneup by 1.42% in 2000-01 to 90.7% in2018-19. Imports as a percentage ofconsumption have also gone up to hit48.1% in 2018-19.

Upasi also urged the Indiangovernment to allocate more funds tothe commodity boards, as a steep cutin the allotment of funds had affectedthe incentive schemes which arecurrently implemented by the Boardsin the plantation sector. The Boards,including the Rubber Board, are not ina position to disburse the dues to thegrowers under various developmentalschemes.

Dr. K N Raghavan; Chairman andExecutive Director of India’s Rubber Board

52

NATURAL RUBBER


In the last 30 years, Asia has doubled the area of landdedicated to rubber plantations. With the ever-increasingdemand for natural rubber (NR), the need for a sustainable

NR supply chain is now paramount for all rubber companiesaround the world. For the same reason, the biggest stakeholdersin rubber are coming together and setting new standardswith the launch of the Global Platform for Sustainable NaturalRubber (GPSNR) — an international, multi-stakeholder,voluntary membership organisation based in Singapore, witha mission to lead improvements in the socio-economic andenvironmental performance ofthe NR value chain.

Development of the GPSNRwas initiated by the CEOs ofthe World Business Council forSustainable Development(WBCSD) Tire Industry Project(TIP) in November 2017.Members of the platforminclude producers, processors& traders, tire makers and otherrubber makers/buyers, carmakers, other downstreamusers, financial institutions,and civil society.Representatives from each ofthese stakeholder groups havecontributed to the development of the Singapore-basedplatform and the wide-reaching set of priorities that will defineGPSNR’s strategy and objectives. Today, the platform cancount on 49 members who are working together to set theagenda for Sustainable Natural Rubber (SNR) in an effort tocontribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

In March 2019, all stakeholders for NR convened inSingapore for the inaugural General Assembly of the platformwhich saw the approval of organisational Statutes and Codeof Conduct, and the formation of an Executive Committeethat has the mandate of overseeing the strategic andoperational activities of the GPSNR. As required by the statutes,the Executive Committee comprises representatives from eachof the four GPSNR membership categories – 1. Rubberproducers, processors and traders; 2. Car makers, otherdownstream users of NR, and financial institutions; 3. Tiremakers and other NR makers/buyers; and, 4. Civil societyorganisations.

Reacting to the formation of the Executive Committee,GPSNR Director Stefano Savi, said “The appointment of theExecutive Committee is a critical piece to a landmarkachievement. It has taken considerable effort from allstakeholders to bring us to this point. We know that the realhard work lies ahead, but today from Singapore we send aclear message – the GPSNR is open for business.”

Following proceedings from Geneva, Peter Bakker,WBCSD’s President and CEO said “We are enormously proudto see the GPSNR take this important step. The commitmentof TIP members to achieve sustainable NR has been a crucial

driving force in taking theGPSNR from concept to reality.Today, our members are joinedby a growing and increasinglywell-balanced GPSNRmembership of rubber valuechain and civil societymembers — the actors are inplace, and the foundations fortransformative action along thenatural rubber value chain havebeen laid. Now the real workcan begin.”

Currently, the platform isworking to finalise itsoperational strategy, guided by

the stakeholder-agreed GPSNR priorities of harmonisingstandards to improve respect for human rights, preventingland-grabbing and deforestation, protecting biodiversity andwater resources, improving yields, and increasing supplychain transparency and traceability.

In view of achieving this, the platform currently counts ontwo separate member working groups. The Strategy andObjectives Working Group is a dedicated working groupthat has been established to agree on what is the “desiredstate” for SNR. It will determine what strategies are needed toaddress social, economic and environmental impacts, andachieve this desired state, as well as prioritising strategiesbased on their importance and urgency and GSPNR’s potentialto effect change. The Smallholders Representation WorkingGroup is a dedicated working group established tocoordinate actions to identify and secure adequateSmallholder representation within GPSNR. Ensuringrelevant representation of smallholders within the GPSNRgovernance remains a a priority for the Platform.

Peter Bakker,President and CEO, WBCSD

Stefano Savi,Director, GPSNR

Global Platform for SustainableNatural Rubber (GPSNR)

Global Platform for SustainableNatural Rubber (GPSNR)

54

IRI SEMINAR


Material Technology IRI Seminar

Janakar giving the welcome speech

The Chennai branch of the Indian Rubber Institute(IRI) conducted a one-day seminar on May 25, 2019,Chennai. Over 130 participants from across the

rubber industry attended the event. Its theme was “MaterialTechnology –Way forward”.

Chairman K J Jankar, in his welcome address, mentionedabout India achieving five trillion USD economy by 2025.He predicted that the manufacturing sector would contributeto a major portion of one trillion USD and India wouldadvance from the current position of 6th largest economy tooccupy 3rd position by 2050. He stressed the need for the heMicro, Small and. Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector to reachglobal standards technologically. He also made a shortpresentation about the forthcoming International RubberConference and Expo being conducted by IRI entitledIRC2020 to be conducted between October 15-17, 2020 atChennai Trade Centre, Chennai.

Dr. Ranjit Matthan, President IRMRA, was the chief guest.He outlined the various initiatives taken by IRI in the field ofRubber technology and also gave a detailed account aboutthe IRMRA centre which has come up at Sri city. He offeredall possible co-operation and help for the various IRI activitiesin the days to come.

S Ganesh, Vice Chairman, Chennai branch, was the

convenor for the entire seminar jointly with SudhakarHonorary secretary Chennai branch, under the guidance ofthe Chairman.

The event concluded with a panel discussion. From theOE segment, the following members participated:◗GS Shankar – Division Manager, Advanced MaterialsTechnology Innovation and Development division, CaterpillarIndia Pvt. Ltd.◗Saurabh Gupta – Senior Manager, STA Chasis, Ford India◗Promod Kumar- Yamaha Motors◗Bharathram, Associate Partner, McKinsey CompanyFrom the rubber industry, the following membersparticipated:◗Lakshmi Narayanan, Chairman, Hitech Arai◗Srikanth – Alpha Rubber◗K J Janakar initiated the discussions and pointed out thatIndia is emerging as 4th largest Auto market in the world andthe advent of electric mobility is getting poised to transforma number of auto parts. He stressed the need for MSME tomeet the challenges.

R Lakshmi Narayanan conducted the panel discussionsjointly with K Srikanth. There were active participants fromOE manufacturers and also from the Rubber industry.

Topic Presented byApplication of specialty polymers and import substitution Gajendra Inani, GM, Technical Service, RelianceNew technological solution to meet advance requirements Dr. Mosonga Moukwa, Chief –Global R&D,of Rubber Article Philips Carbon Black LimitedEmerging product reducing carbon foot print. G Kanthasami, RamchandranExpected Requirements from OE Manufacturers Saurabh Gupta, Senior Manager, STA Chasis, Ford IndiaIRMRA role in Rubber Industry Nitish, Deputy Director, IRMRARelease agents for Tyre&moulded goods Krishna Marakala, RheinChemie

S Ganesh, Vice Chairman, Chennai branch

Dr. Ranjit Matthan, President IRMRA, Chief Guest Address

Dr. Mosonga Moukwa, Chief – Global R&D Philips Carbon Black Limited

55

NATURAL RUBBER


The Trend

PRICE OF NATURAL RUBBER (Rupee per 100 Kg)Month / YearMonth / YearMonth / YearMonth / YearMonth / Year RSS-5 RSS-5 RSS-5 RSS-5 RSS-5 RSS -4RSS -4RSS -4RSS -4RSS -4 RSS-3 Latex (60% drc) RSS-3 Latex (60% drc) RSS-3 Latex (60% drc) RSS-3 Latex (60% drc) RSS-3 Latex (60% drc) ISNR 20 ISNR 20 ISNR 20 ISNR 20 ISNR 20 SMR 20 SMR 20 SMR 20 SMR 20 SMR 20

Domest icDomest icDomest icDomest icDomest ic IntIntIntIntIntl .l .l .l .l . Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic IntIntIntIntIntl.l.l.l.l. Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Intl. Intl. Intl. Intl. Intl.

March 2018 12137 12438 11286 14090 13297 11426 9389

April “ 11790 12012 11343 13678 12742 10787 9077

May “ 12194 12419 11808 14640 14053 11959 9715

June “ 12263 12646 110920 14550 12615 12112 9382

July “ 12687 12919 10308 14077 11927 12782 9093

August “ 13074 13267 10320 16308 11682 13055 9343

September “ 12683 13048 10451 17073 12077 12361 9638

October “ 12314 12780 10556 16273 12015 11536 9748

November “ 11676 12156 9772 13922 11092 11020 8902

December “ 11831 12196 10116 14558 10810 11263 8914

January 2019 12018 12466 11202 14622 11435 11657 9568

February “ 11820 12433 11554 13880 12140 11600 9903

March “ 12433 12802 12248 13747 13695 12329 10273

average 2018 - 2019 12232 12595 10883 14777 12190 11872 9463

Note: Domestic price refers to Kottayam market, international RSS 3 refers to Bangkok market andinternational price of latex and SMR 20 to Kuala Lumpur market.

India is estimated to have produced 78,000 tonne ofnatural rubber (NR) during January 2019, up 6.8 per centfrom the same month a year ago. The total output during

the 10 months ended January 2019 showed a decline of 4.9%on year to 568,000 tonne. Preliminary estimate for February2019 suggests that the output has fallen to 50,000 tonne from52,000 tonne produced in the same month a year ago.Rubber goods manufacturing units in the country consumed atotal quantity of 98,000 tonne of NR during January 2019,showing a decrease of 7.1 per cent from December 2018. Thetotal quantity consumed during April to January 2019 was up11.7%, year-over-year, at 1,019,940 tonnes. This represents14.5% rise in the dominant auto-tyre manufacturing sector and5.2% rise in the general rubber goods sector. According topreliminary estimate, the country has consumed 92,000 tonnesof NR during February 2019.As per preliminary estimate received from DGCI&S, Kolkata, a

total volume of 508,277 tonne of NR is estimated to haveimported into the country during the 10 months ended January2019 compared to 375,339 tonne imported during the sameperiod in the previous year. The volume of NR exported duringApril’18 to January 2019 was 3,728 tonne compared to 5,020tonne during the same period in the previous year.The above trends in production, consumption, import andexport imply that January 2019 has ended up with a closingstock of 296,000 tonne which includes the quantity held bygrowers, traders, processors and manufacturers.Turning to synthetic rubber (SR), a total quantity of 315,947tonne was produced during the 10 months ended January2019, higher by 18.6% from the quantity produced in thesame period in the previous year. Consumption of SR also roseby an annualised 10.4 % o 576,925 tonne during April 2018 toJanuary 2019.

56

NATURAL RUBBER


(Metric Tonnes)

Type-wise Production &Consumption of NR & SR

April 2018to January

2 0 1 9

January2 0 1 8

April 2017 toJanuary

2 0 1 8

January2 0 1 9

Percentageincrease (+)/decrease (-)of (3) & (4)

PRODUCTION & CONSUMPTION OF NR & SR

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

PRODUCTION

NATURAL RUBBER (NR)

Ribbed Smoked Sheet (RSS) 55480 49115 390810 420715 478445

Solid Block Rubber 12060 12485 96410 92350 114875

Latex Concentrates(DRC) 7820 9000 60305 61425 75070

Others 2640 2400 20475 22510 25610

Total 78000 73000 568000 597000 694000 -4.9

SYNTHETIC RUBBER (SR)p

Styrene Butadiene (SBR) 23200 18840 209441 168166 209938

Poly butadiene (BR) 10970 10644 102474 92324 113666

Others 350 796 4032 6016 7617

Total 3452034520345203452034520 3028030280302803028030280 315947315947315947315947315947 266506 266506 266506 266506 266506 331221331221331221331221331221 18.6 18.6 18.6 18.6 18.6

Total NR & SR 112520 103280 883947 863506 1025221 2.4

CONSUMPTION

NATURAL RUBBER (NR)

Ribbed Smoked Sheet (RSS) 44170 45530 426215 422720 513710

Solid Block Rubber 43550 44270 491970 404725 493410

Latex Concentrates(DRC) 8030 7400 78915 65140 79765

Others 2250 2150 22840 20825 25325

Total 98000 99350 1019940 913410 1112210 11.7

Out of which Auto 69141 68992 728142 635984 772162 14.5

Tire Manufactures

SYNTHETIC RUBBER (SR)p

Styrene Butadiene (SBR) 28880 28175 297305 254320 311555

Poly butadiene (BR) 15145 16390 165880 152535 184130

Others 10225 11935 113740 115625 138290

Total 54250 56500 576925 522480 633975 10.4

Out of which Auto Tire Manufactures 36611 38277 394979 362465 437754 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0

Totaltaltaltaltal NR & SR 152250 155850 1596865 1435890 1746185 11.2

Out of which Auto Tire Manufactures 105752 107269 1123121 998449 1209916 12.5

April 2017 to

M a r c h2 0 1 8

(6)

57

NATURAL RUBBER


PRODUCTION & CONSUMPTION OF RR

(Metric Tonnes)

RECLAIMED RUBBER (RR)

Production @ 11925 11850 119985 109045 131575

Consumption 11470 11700 118390 108150 130510

Out of which Auto Tire Manufactures 4149 4342 44376 42203 50866

Stock with Manufacturer 13460 11695

(end of the Month/Year

@:Indigenous purchase by Manufacturers

IMPORT/EXPORT & STOCK OF NR & SR

Import(p)

Natural Rubber 43481 42018 508277R 375339 469760

Synthetic Rubber 23845 27910 280248 283749 338189

Total NR & SR 67326 69928 788525 659088 807949

Export(p)

Natural Rubber 8 29 3728 5020 5072

January January April April April2 0 1 9 2 0 1 8 2 0 1 8 2 0 1 7 2 0 1 7

t o t o t oJanuary January March

2019 2018 2018

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

60

TECHNOLOGY


ASSESSMENT OF REUSEOF SCRAP RUBBERPRODUCTS IN DIFFERENTAPPLICATIONSTHROUGH VARIOUS TESTMETHODOLOGY

Destructive and non-destructive testing andevaluation of TYREand other rubber products Delivered By AVIK MUKHERJEE :

61

TECHNOLOGY


62

TECHNOLOGY


63

TECHNOLOGY


64

TECHNOLOGY


66

TECHNOLOGY


Development andevaluation of sustainablenew latex and dry naturalrubber grades fordownstream productapplications

Dr. R K Matthan, Director, Vystar Corporation, USA Joseph John, Director, Polymer Consultancy Services P. Ltd., India

Dr. R K Matthan

67

TECHNOLOGY


68

TECHNOLOGY


69

TECHNOLOGY


70

TECHNOLOGY


71

TECHNOLOGY


72

TECHNOLOGY


73

SIAM


74

AUTO NEWS


India’s auto sales hitslow lane, but global

companies line upnew models

��Global automakers MG Motors andKia Motors are close to launchingtheir first models in the Indianautomobile segment, irrespective ofthe constant decline in passengervehicles (PV) sales.

According to experts, the PVmarket still remains highly under-penetrated compared to mostdeveloped economies and somedeveloping nations.

“As of fiscal 2019, India hadaround 22 PVs per 1,000 people. Thisis significantly lower than bothdeveloped countries and even othernations in the BRIC block (Brazil,Russia, and China). Hence, Indiaholds tremendous potential forautomobile manufacturers, includingglobal automobile companies,” CrisilResearch director Hetal Gandhi said.

MG Motors, a subsidiary of China’sSAIC, will launch its first vehicle,Hector, in India later this month witha high level of localised content. Itwas unveiled on May 15 and thecompany has already startedaccepting bookings for theupcoming premium SUV. Anotherglobal automobile company SouthKorea’s Kia Motors will also launchits first car, Seltos, a sports utilityvehicle, within the next few months.It is being showcased in June.

There have been few newlaunches by automakers includingHyundai - Venue, Toyota Glanza,Ford’s new variant of Ecosport -Thunder edition etc.

However, the share of newlaunches in total sales have comedown substantially over the years.According to data from Crisil, in2018-19, new launches contributed3% to new sales compared toprevious two years, where it was inthe range of 10-20% (this does notfactor facelifts).

Sales of new models havesupported the overall industrygrowth in the past five years. Newmodel launches accounted foraround 18% and 9% of sales in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.

“New models have only accountedfor around 3% in FY19, as OEMs

came out with more facelifts thanfresh model launches. Consideringthat they have the potential to spurdemand and help gain market shareeven in a subdued demand scenario,OEMs like Hyundai, M&M, Toyotaand Tata Motors have undertakennew product launches in the pastsix months,” Gandhi said. Despitethe decline in volume in the firstquarter, the vehicle sales growth inthis fiscal year is expected to bearound 2-4% because ofpreponement of purchases,specifically from the taxi and cab-aggregator segment that havehigher diesel vehicle usage.

In reverse gear:PV sales decline to

18-year low�� The downward spiral in theautomobile sector continued in the

second month of the current financialyear, with PV sales crashing 20.5% inMay, the highest decline in last 18years.

Way back in September 2001, thevehicle sales had declined by 21.91%.

PV sales in May 2019 were downfor the seventh straight month to2,39,347 units against 3,01,238 unitsin the same month last year, accordingto data released by the Society ofIndian Automobile Manufacturers(SIAM). In 10 out of the last 11 months,the sales in PV segment saw a decline,barring October last year, when theywere up 1.55%.

“The downhill drive continues inMay. Retail sales figures arecomparatively better than wholesale,which shows that the industry istaking steps to cut production.Inventory correction is taking place.We have not witnessed suchslowdown in the last 15 years,” SIAMdirector general Vishnu Mathur said.

With this kind of a market situation,now is the time for the governmentto step in and come with some stepsto stimulate growth, he said.

SIAM has also asked thegovernment to reduce goods andservices tax (GST) on all categories ofvehicles from 28 % to 18 %.

SIAM deputy director generalSugato Sen further added, “The timehas come for some seriousintervention to be made by thegovernment for stimulating demandin the market. We thought that post-election, we will see some revival, butthat has not happened. This isunprecedented.”

Domestic car sales declined 26.03%to 1,47,546 units as against 1,99,479units in May 2018.

Motorcycle sales last month weredown 4.89% to 11,62,373 units asagainst 12,22,164 units in the samemonth previous year.

ORIENTAL RALLY2-4%2-4%2-4%2-4%2-4% – vehicle salesgrowth expected this fiscal(FY20)

18%18%18%18%18% – of sales came fromnew models in FY17

9%9%9%9%9% – of sales constitutednew model launches inFY18

3%3%3%3%3% – news model launchescontributed to sales inFY19

17% 17% 17% 17% 17% – decline inpassenger vehicle sales inApril

18%18%18%18%18% – cut in production byMaruti Suzuki in May

75

AUTO NEWS


Total two-wheeler sales declined6.73% to 17,26,206 units comparedto 18,50,698 units in thecorresponding period last fiscal.

Sales of commercial vehicles weredown 10.02% to 68,847 units in May.

Vehicle sales across categoriesregistered a decline of 8.62% to20,86,358 units from 22,83,262 unitsin May 2018.

Despite the decline in volume inthe first quarter, the growth in thecurrent fiscal year is expected to endat around 2-4% because ofpreponement of purchases,specifically from the taxi and cab-aggregator segment, which havehigher diesel vehicle usage, accordingto a Crisil Research report.

Key reasons for the sales decline inthe PV segment has been a significantincrease in the cost of ownership forpassenger cars over the last twoyears. One of the reasons has beenthe rising fuel cost in 2018, whichhas continued in the current year aswell. Owing to higher raw materialcosts, OEMs also hiked vehicle pricesin addition to the increase ininsurance costs by IRDAI, which hada compounding impact on the cost

of ownership. All these resulted inaround a 13% increase in the cost ofownership in a two-year period, CrisilResearch director Hetal Gandhi said.

Last year, the industry recorded agrowth of 5% in sales, though PVdomestic sales grew only by 2.7%.However, owing to slowing demand,automakers have been cuttingproduction across segments. In May,totoal output cut stood at 7.97%

New energy vehiclessales rise in ChinaThe new energy vehicle market

in China posted vigorous growth inthe January-April period amid asluggish broader automobilesector. About 360,000 N.E.V. carswere sold in the first four monthsof the year, almost 60% more thanin the corresponding period a yearearlier, the China Association ofAutomobile Manufacturers said onMay 13, Production also rose 58.5%year-on-year. China sold 96,800N.E.V.s in April, 18% more year-on-year, and output reached101,600, up 25% from a yearearlier.

Volkswagen to trim asmany as 4,000 jobs

amid digital overhaul��Volkswagen AG’s main car brand willlet as many as 4,000 general andadministrative jobs lapse while addingat least 2,000 IT positions over the nextfour years. As a result, it will manageto avoid layoffs at its German factoriesas it negotiates a major shift towardelectrification and self-driving cars.

The move, brokered with VW’spowerful unions, includes jobguarantees through 2029. The brand

will rely on partial retirement andattrition to help reach targetedstaff reductions as it culls modelsand focusses on new technologiesthat require fewer factory workers.

With earlier job cuts, VW is ontrack with a plan, which wasannounced in March, to improveprofit by 5.9 billion euros ($6.7billion) a year, the unit’s chiefoperating officer, RalfBrandstaetter, said in thestatement. “We are making thecompany fit for the digital age in asustainable way.”

BMW and Jaguar tojointly develop e-car

parts��On June 5, BMW and Jaguar LandRover said that they will jointlydevelop electric motors,transmissions and power electronics,unveiling yet another industryalliance designed to lower the costsof developing electric cars.

Both carmakers are under pressureto roll out zero-emission vehicles tomeet stringent anti-pollution rules,but have struggled to maintain profitmargins faced with the rising costs ofmaking electric, connected andautonomous cars.

“Together, we have the opportunityto cater more effectively for customerneeds by shortening developmenttime and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidlyto market,” said BMW board memberKlaus Froehlich.

BMW and Jaguar Land Rover saidthey will save costs through shareddevelopment, production planningand joint purchasing of electric carcomponents. Both companies willproduce electric drivetrains in theirown manufacturing faci l i t ies ,BMW said.

76

AUTO NEWS


The BMW Jaguar Land Rover pactcomes as rivals FiatChrysler andRenault explore a $35 billion tie-up ofthe Italian-American and Frenchcarmaking groups.

Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover’sengineering director said, “We’veproven we can build world-beatingelectric cars, but now we need toscale the technology to support thenext generation of Jaguar and LandRover products.”

BMW was in talks with rivalDaimler about developing electric carcomponents but was also indiscussions with Jaguar Land Rover,a company it once owned, to explorean alliance on engines.

BMW already has a deal to supplyan eight-cylinder engine to JaguarLand Rover.

Carmakers are increasingly open tosharing electric car parts as thetechnology is expensive andcustomers no longer buy a car basedon what engine a vehicle has.

“Carmakers are much less preciousabout sharing electric car technologybecause it is harder to create productdifferentiation with electric car tech.They accelerate fast, and everybodycan do quality, ride andhandling,”Carl-Peter Forster, a formerchief executive of Tata Motors and aformer BMW executive said.

30% fall in sales seenfor US auto industry by

2022: Analyst��By 2022, the US auto industrycould be dealing with an almost 30%drop in sales, based on predictionsby a Bank of America Merrill Lynchauto analyst.

As per the company’s annual “CarWars” outlook, slower sales willcontinue with falling demand. Withsales projected to fall to about 14million vehicles in 2022, the analystsurge automakers not to cut prices asthey did during the economicdownturn from 2007 to 2009.Keeping profitable margins will helpinvestments in new technology.

US automakers are facing theprospects of a continued trade warwith China and threats of furthertariffs up to 25% that could beimplemented in November.Meanwhile, China’s auto market,which began to shrink at the end of

2018, is facing oversaturation withthe possibility of a 7.5% fall in salesthis year.

The auto analysts believes thatlaunches of new vehicles in the USauto market will boost profits. Sixtytwo new product launches areexpected on an average over the nextfour years, which should bring downthe showroom ages of vehicles toaround 2½ years.

The risk of having so many newvehicle launches is overcrowding.Crossovers and trucks make up 70%of new introductions. By the 2023model year, crossovers alone areexpected to grow to 149 - 25% morethan cars or trucks.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynchauto analysts expect electric-vehiclepenetration will be at just 5% by 2025and 15% by 2030. To compete withtraditional vehicles, autonomoustransportation has to be able to operate

at a cost of less than $1 per mile.

Vingroup launches firstVietnamese-made

vehicle��Vingroup, a leading Vietnameseconglomerate, aims to manufacture500,000 vehicles a year followingthe opening of its newmanufacturing facility in June. Asubsidiary of Vingroup, VinFast isbecoming the country’s first high-volume automotive manufacturer ofvehicles made at the $1.5 billion,335-hectare plant in Hai Phong,northern Vietnam. The vehicles willbe competing with more-establishedforeign rivals.

“Nobody believed that aVietnamese company could makecars, but we have done it,”Vietnamese Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc said at theopening ceremonyin Haiphong.

Vingroup is themost valuablecompany on the HoChi Minh City StockExchange and ismoving into newareas, such asautomobiles. Thegroup says deliveriesof the Fadilhatchback will begin

shortly, with plans to roll out an SUVand a sedan in July.

Nguyen Viet Quang, vice chairmanof the group, said they had alreadyreceived orders for over 10,000vehicles in total and plan to startselling electric vehicles by the end ofthe year.

In order to develop the auto partsrequired, Vingroup adopted BMWtechnology for the chassis, workingwith a number of companies,primarily German firms like Bosch.The Vietnamese group will need topay for components and licenses toits European partners.

Vingroup expects exports toaccount for a large portion of theapproximately 500,000 vehicles itplans to produce per year.

The Vietnamese government hasbeen extending its support toVingroup’s vehicle venture,introducing complex quality controlsfor imported cars in January 2018.

As Vietnam’s GDP grows andspending, especially in the big cities,increases, the consumption ofdurable goods, such as cars, isexpected to rise significantly. Thecountry’s auto sales are expected tohit a record of over 300,000 for 2019.Nonetheless, the country’s automarket is still only a quarter the sizeof Indonesia’s. Toyota Motor of Japanis the biggest single brand, with a24% share of the auto market.

Earlier, the Vietnamese companyXuan Kien also attempted tomanufacture homegrown cars buthad essentially abandoned its effortswithout ever launching any vehiclesby 2015. Some say the company’sattempt was hampered by the lackof efforts to work together with thegovernment..

78

INDIAN BUSINESS NEWS


FY19 growth slumps tofive-year low of 6.8%

��India’s economy grew slower thanexpected to a 20-quarter low in theJanuary-March period, draggingoverall growth to a five-year low inFY19. This is the first big challenge forthe second Narendra Modigovernment that took charge on May

31. Following on from this, the centralbank is widely expected to cut interestrates further to bolster the flaggingeconomy.

The provisional estimates for FY19showed that the economy grew 5.8%in the fourth quarter of FY19 against6.6% in the preceding one and 8.1%

in the year earlier.The overall growth for FY19

slumped to a five-year low of 6.8%compared with 7% projected in thesecond advance estimates released inFebruary. Full-year growth in valueadded terms was lower at 6.6%,compared with 6.9% in FY18.

China’s economy, in comparison,grew 6.4% in the quarter ended Marchbut for the full year, India stillremained the fastest-growing majoreconomy in the world.

FDI flow into Indiarises 6% to $42 billion

in 2018: UNCTAD��Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) intoIndia increased by 6% to $42 billionin 2018 with strong inflows inmanufacturing, communication,financial services and cross-bordermerger and acquisition activitiesmaking it the sub-region’s largestrecipient, according to a UN reporton world investment flows.

India ranks 10th amongst the toprecipients of FDI in 2018, a notchdown from last year.

Global FDI flows, however, fell 13%in 2018 to $1.3 trillion, from $1.5trillion in the previous year — the thirdconsecutive annual decline,according to UNCTAD’s WorldInvestment Report 2019.

The contraction was largely due to

American multinational enterprises(MNEs) repatriating earnings fromabroad, making use of tax reformsintroduced by the country in 2017.“FDI continues to be trapped, confinedto post-crisis lows. This does not bodewell for the international community’spromise to tackle urgent globalchallenges, such as abject poverty andthe climate crisis,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said.

“Geopolitics and trade tensions riskcontinue to weigh on FDI in 2019 andbeyond,” he added.

FDI inflows to developing countriesin Asia rose by 3.9% to $ 512 billionin 2018. “Growth occurred mainly inChina, Hong Kong (China),Singapore, Indonesia and othercountries that belong to theAssociation of South-east AsianNations, as well as India and Turkey,”the report stated.

The tax-driven fall in FDI, whichoccurred in the first two quarters, wascushioned by increased transactionactivity in the second half of 2018.Despite the FDI decline, the USremained the largest recipient of FDI,followed by China, Hong Kong(China) and Singapore.

In terms of outward investors, Japanbecame the largest followed by Chinaand France.

To boost economy, RBIcuts repo rate by 25 bps

to 5.75%��To spur economic activity, whichdecelerated sharply in the January-March quarter, the Reserve Bank ofIndia’s Monetary Policy Committee(MPC) unanimously decided to cut thepolicy repo rate by 25 basis points andchange the monetary policy stancefrom ‘neutral’ to ‘accommodative’.

This is the third time on the trot thatthe six-member MPC has decided ona 25-basis points rate cut, making it ahat-trick of repo rate cuts. The rate cutalso comes in the backdrop of benignretail inflation.

Following the MPC decision, therepo rate now stands at 5.75% against6% earlier.

The last time the repo rate was at5.75% in the July-September 2010period. Earlier, the RBI had an‘accommodative’ monetary policystance during the January 2015 toearly February 2017 period.

Survey shows FY18 unemployment at 6.1%��India’s unemployment rate stood at6.1% in FY18, official data showed,highlighting the challenge thatconfronts the Narendra Modi-ledgovernment. The data isn’t comparablewith that of past years, the governmentcontended, in effect seeking to refuteprevious leaked reports that said theyshowed the unemployment rate was ata 45-year high.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey(PLFS) of the National Sample SurveyOffice (NSSO) released on May 31showed the unemployment rate in thecountry in FY18 was at 5.3% in ruralIndia and 7.8% in urban India, resultingin overall unemployment rate of 6.1%.

“It is a new design, new metric. Itwould be unfair to compare it with the past,” said chief statistician PravinSrivastava.

79



RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said:“The unanimous vote reflects theresolve of the MPC to act decisivelyand to act in time…The RBI will ensurethat adequate liquidity is available inthe system for all productivepurposes. An accommodative stancebasically means that rate increase isoff the table.”

The MPC noted that growthimpulses have weakened significantlyas reflected in a further widening ofthe output gap (the differencebetween the actual output of aneconomy and its potential output)compared to the April 2019 policy.

A sharp slowdown in investmentactivity along with a continuingmoderation in private consumptiongrowth is a matter of concern, thecommittee said.

Das added, “The headline inflationtrajectory remains below the targetmandated to the MPC even after takinginto account the expectedtransmission of the past two policyrate cuts.

“Hence, there is scope for the MPCto accommodate growth concerns bysupporting efforts to boost aggregate

demand, and in particular,reinvigorate private investmentactivity, while remaining consistentwith its flexible inflation targetingmandate.”

Underscoring that out of thecumulative 50 bps cut in repo rateeffected in February and April 2019,just 21 bps have flowed through tothe lending rate on fresh rupee loans,Das expected that going forward,there will be higher and fastertransmission of the repo rate cut.

“So, this transmission (of repo ratecut into lending rates) will naturallyfind its impact on consumer loans,consumer durables loans, two-

wheeler loans, etc. There are goodchances of interest rates on new loansin these segments coming down,” theGovernor said.

Adani wins long-awaited green light for

Australian coal mine�� On June 14, India’s AdaniEnterprises received the go-ahead tostart construction of a controversialcoal mine in outback Australia, after astate government approved a finalpermit on ground watermanagement.

The Carmichael mine has been alightning rod for climate change

��Azim Premji, founder and ExecutiveChairman of Wipro Ltd, who transformeda small vegetable oil company into an$8.5-billion global IT powerhouse, willstep down from his post at the end of histenure on July 30 and pass on the batonto his son, Rishad Premji.

“I wish to thank generations ofWiproites and their families for theircontribution towards building ourcompany to what it is today. I am gratefulto our clients, partners and otherstakeholders who have reposed trust andconfidence in us,” Premji said in astatement.

The soft-spoken, Harvard-educated, 42-year-oldRishad, Chief Strategy Officer and member of the board,will take over as the Executive Chairman for a five-yearterm. Wipro Chief Executive Officer and ExecutiveDirector, Abidail Z Neemuchwala, has been re-designatedas MD & CEO.

Azim Premji will continue to be on the board as a non-executive director and founder-chairman. He will alsoremain the Chairman of Wipro Enterprises Ltd andcontinue to chair the board of Wipro-GE Healthcare.

“Rishad’s understanding of the global technologyindustry, strong strategic orientation and diverse

Azim Premji to step down as Executive Chairman of Wiproleadership experience make him the rightperson to guide Wipro. He is also bestpositioned to represent the interests andfundamental social purpose of the largestshareholder of Wipro. I have greatconfidence and trust in Rishad’s leadershipto steer Wipro in its next phase of growthas we move forward,” Premji said.

“I am humbled and honoured to be invitedto chair the board of Wipro Ltd, a companythat has over decades demonstrated thatsuccess can be built on the foundation ofstrong values and uncompromisingintegrity. This is a testament to the spiritand dedication of thousands of Wiproites,”

Chairman-designate Rishad Premji said.Leading philanthropist

Premji, 73, who led the company for 53 years, is widelyknown as one of the greatest businessmen-philanthropistsof the modern era. In March, he announced that allearnings from approximately 34% shares of Wipro Ltdworth about ¹ 52,750 crore ($7.5 billion) would betransferred to the endowment that supports the AzimPremji Foundation. This took his total commitment to ¹1.45 lakh crore ($21 billion), making it one of the fivelargest private endowments in the world, and the biggestin Asia.

Azim Premji, founder and ExecutiveChairman, Wipro Ltd

80



RATES OF INDIAN RUPEE

Currency 10.07.2019 22.05.2019 04.04.2019

1 US $ 68.5679 69.716729 69.0639

1 Euro 76.9343 77.842806 77.5735

1 Pound 85.5288 88.094013 90.8680

concerns in Australia, and was seenas a factor in the surprise return topower of the conservative Liberal/National coalition in a nationalelection in May.

First acquired by Adani in 2010, theproject is slated to produce 8-10million tonnes of thermal coal a yearand cost up to $1.5 billion, but hasbeen mired in court battles andopposition from green groups.

“Within two years, we should beable to export our first piece of coal,”Adani Mining Chief Executive LucasDow told reporters, adding thatconstruction work would begin soon.

The go-ahead comes afterQueensland’s Department ofEnvironment and Science said it hadapproved Adani’s GroundwaterDependent Ecosystem ManagementPlan following a rigorous assessment“based on the best available science.”

How ”Invest India”keeps FDI flowing

��Invest India, a joint effort of industryassociations, the Centre and Stategovernments to woo foreigninvestments, has yielded encouragingresults. According to the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry, the countryrecorded $60.97 billion FDI inflow in2017-18, an increase of 69% over2013-14 when the total FDI inflowwas $36.05 billion.

Invest India is currently workingwith 907 companies, with anindicated investment worth $114billion and employment of 1,832,551,extending end-to-end facilitationsupport. Out of these, investmentsworth $21 billion and 117,252employments have been realised tillFebruary 2019, the Ministry informedthe Rajya Sabha.

Invest India was formed in 2009under Section 25 of the CompaniesAct 1956 with 49% equity by thenDepartment of Industrial Policy andPromotion, Ministry of Commerce andIndustry and 51% shareholding byFICCI. Invest India acts as National

Investment Promotion andFacilitation Agency andfirst point of reference forinvestors in India.

The currentshareholding pattern ofInvest India has 51%equity by industryassociations (that is, 17%each of FICCI, CII andNasscom) and theremaining 49% by theCentre and 19 Stategovernments.

“Invest India has responded to169,230 business requests during theperiod from September 2014 till dateand is actively working with severalstates to build capacity andstrengthen existing InvestmentPromotion Agencies as well as bringin global best practices in investmenttargeting, promotion and facilitationareas” the Ministry said in reply to thequestion asked in the Rajya Sabha.

The Ministry, in another reply, saidthat to promote FDI, the governmenthas put in place an investor-friendlypolicy, wherein except for a smallnegative list, most sectors are openfor 100 per cent FDI under theautomatic route.

Indian pharmaindustry expects to

treble to $120billion by 2030: IPA

�� The Indian pharmaceuticalindustry is aspiring to touch USD120-130 billion by 2030 from thecurrent USD 38 billion, industrybody Indian PharmaceuticalAlliance (IPA) said.

The report, tilted ‘IndianPharmaceutical Industry: The WayForward - Vision 2030’, is based on aresearch collaboration with McKinsey& Co and inputs from the IPA membersand industry leaders,

IPA said in a statement. To achievethe goals of Vision 2030, thestakeholders need to workon accelerating the goal ofuniversal healthcare acrossIndia and the world byproviding access to high-quality affordable drugs.

The stakeholders also needto work on becoming theworld’s largest and most

reliable high drugs supplier andachieve to grow to USD 120-130billion by 2030, IPA said.

IPA Secretary General SudarshanJain said, “The Indian pharmaceuticalindustry is entering its next phase ofgrowth. At this critical juncture, thereis a need for stronger collaborationbetween pharma companies,government and regulatory agencies”.

He added, “Concerted efforts bypharmaceutical companies and asupportive ecosystem can help theindustry achieve Vision 2030,”

Strategic interventions includeincreasing expenditure on healthcareto 2.5% of GDP by 2025 from 1% now,and to 5% by 2030, in line with theorder developed economies in Europeand North America.

It should also encourageinvestments by ensuring a stablepricing policy and supportiveregulatory environment.

Fresh Air India saleproposal readied

��The finance ministry is preparing afresh proposal for sale of Air Indiaflagged by EY last year on possiblereasons of the government failingto attract bidders for the nationalcarrier. The ministry’s proposal,to be placed before Air IndiaSpecific Alternative Mechanism(AISAM), will also include option ofselling either 100% or 76%government stake in Air India.

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WORLD BUSINESS NEWS


India to grow fastestamid global slip

�� The World Bank’s EconomicProspects Report, which wasreleased recently, has predicted 7.5%growth for India’s economy in 2019-20 and two following fiscals. It hasforecast that the country would topthe chart as the fastest-growingmajor economy. An accommodativemonetary policy and strengtheningcredit growth will push up privateconsumption and investment in thecountry, with inflation hoveringbelow the Reserve Bank of India(RBI)’s target of 4%.

Interestingly, the World Bank ismore optimistic than India’s ownCentral Statistical Office (CSO). For2018-19, the World Bank peggedIndia’s economic growth at 7.2%while the CSO predicted 6.8%. Aslowdown in governmentconsumption was offset by publicinfrastructure spending, according tothe Bank. India’s finance secretarySubhash Garg had attributed theslower growth to a slew oftemporary factors such as stress innon-banking financial companiesthat affected consumption finance.

India’s growth numbers are incontrast to the global growthpredictions. The World Bank haspredicted the global growth to be3% for last year, 2.6% this year, 2.7%next year and 2.8% in 2021, withseveral global factors weighing itdown.

IMF cuts China’sgrowth forecast

to 6.2%��The International Monetary Fund(IMF) trimmed its forecasts foreconomic growth in China, and saidthe trade war with the US is tiltingthe balance of risks to the downside.

The world’s second-largesteconomy is forecast to expand by6.2% this year and 6.0% in 2020, a10th of a percentage point downfrom the previous estimate in bothcases, the fund said at a briefing inBeijing on June 5.

“China and its partners should workconstructively to addressshortcomings in the trading system,”the fund said in a release on thecompletion of its annual Article IV

mission to China. At the same time,the IMF said that no further policystimulus would be needed to supportthe domestic economy, “providedthere are no further increases in tariffsor a significant slowdown in growth.”

China’s economy is undergoing adomestic deceleration and risingtensions with the US, which is raisingtariffs on Chinese exports and lookingto cut off companies such as HuaweiTechnologies Co. from the Americanmarket. President Xi Jinping said thatthe output is stabilising and hasimproved noticeably, the latest in aseries of official statements talkingup the strength and resilience of theeconomy.

The IMF’s forecast compares withthe median estimate amongeconomists surveyed by Bloombergof 6.3% expansion in 2019 and 6%next year. The economy showed anacross-the-broad slowdown in April,and that trend is likely to be carriedinto the coming months. The PBOChas maintained its policy of targetedstimulus, and fiscal policy has beenstepped up.

The IMF said that while China hasmade progress on reforms, it shouldallow market forces to play a more

decisive role and accelerate itsopening up to the rest of the world.

China’s top banking regulatoryagency announced new measures toopen up its financial services industryto foreign investors last month lastmonth, and the People’s Bank OfChina (PBOC) Governor Yi Gang saidearlier in the year that the bank willfocus on developing more hedgingtools to help foreign investorsmanage risks.

In just 8 years, Indiawill overtake China asworld’s most populous

country: UN report��Around 2027, India is projected toovertake China as the world’s mostpopulous country, says the latestreport released by United Nations.

The World Population Prospects2019: Highlights, which is publishedby the Population Division of the UNDepartment of Economic and SocialAffairs, provides a comprehensiveoverview of global demographicpatterns and prospects.

The new population projectionsindicate that nine countries — India,Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic

Amazon India is the country’s most attractiveemployer, says Randstad survey

��E-commerce giant Amazon India is the most attractive employer brand inthe country followed by Microsoft India and Sony India.

According to the Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2019,released recently, Amazon scored high on financial health, utilisation oflatest technologies and a strong reputation.

Others in the top 10 most-attractive employer brands in India for 2019include Mercedes-Benz at 4th position, IBM (5th), Larsen & Toubro (6th),Nestle (7th), Infosys (8th), Samsung (9th) and Dell (10th).

In line with the REBR philosophy, Google India had been inducted intothe Hall of Fame category last year, for winning the coveted title for threeconsecutive years. The Randstad Employer Brand Research, covered 75%of the global economy with 32 participating countries and more than2,00,000 respondents worldwide.‘Employer branding crucial’

The top driver for the Indian workforce while choosing an employer aresalary and employee benefits, followed by work-life balance and jobsecurity. “Employer branding has emerged as a crucial positioning tool forboth companies seeking talent with must-have skills and candidates seekingorganisations that can support their aspirations of realising a meaningfulcareer,” said Paul Dupuis, MD and CEO Randstad India.

The survey further noted that a vast majority (55%) of Indians prefer towork for a large multi-national corporation, while a negligible 9% preferredstart-ups.

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WORLD BUSINESS NEWS


US DOLLAR RATES

10.07.2019 22.05.2019 04.04.2019

1 INR 0.0145841 0.014343 0.01447

1 Euro 1.12198 0.01285 0.89056

1 UK £ 1.24729 0.01134 1.31502

1Yen 0.00918126 1.582550 0.00897

Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, theUnited Republic of Tanzania,Indonesia, Egypt and the US — willaccount for more than half of theprojected growth in globalpopulation between now and 2050,with India registering the mostincrease, and the US, the least.

“Growing at a slower pace, worldpopulation is expected to reach 9.7billion in 2050 and could peak atnearly 11 billion around 2100,” thereport says.China shrinking

While India is moving towardsbecoming the most populous country,many countries, including China, areexperiencing a populationcontraction. According to the report,since 2010, 27 countries or areas haveexperienced a reduction of one percent or more in the size of theirpopulations. This drop is caused bysustained low levels of fertility.Between 2019 and 2050, populationsare projected to decrease by one percent or more in 55 countries or areas,of which 26 may see a reduction of atleast 10%. In China, for example, thepopulation is projected to decreaseby 31.4 million, or around 2.2%,between 2019 and 2050. The reportalso observes that migration hasbecome a major component ofpopulation change in some countries.Between 2010 and 2020, 14countries or areas will see a net inflowof more than one million migrants,while 10 countries will see a netoutflow of similar magnitude.

“Some of the largest migratoryoutflows are driven by the demandfor migrant workers (Bangladesh,Nepal and the Philippines) or byviolence, insecurity and armed conflict(Myanmar, Syria and Venezuela).Belarus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary,Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation,Serbia and Ukraine will experience anet inflow of migrants over thedecade, helping to offset populationlosses caused by an excess of deathsover births,” it says.

With plunging phonesales, Huawei planning$30-b production cut�� Huawei’s founder announcedthat the Chinese telecom giant’soverseas smartphone sales havetumbled since the US last month

threatened to blacklist thecompany, and he warned theembattled firm would slashproduction to weather the US driveto isolate it.

The announcements by Huaweifounder and CEO Ren Zhengfeimarked the first clear indication fromthe company of the impact of the USpressure, which is being applied overconcerns in Washington that Huaweiis in bed with China’s securityapparatus.

Speaking at a panel discussionorganised by the company atheadquarters in the city of Shenzhenin southern China, Ren was asked ifhe could confirm media reports citinganonymous sources which said itsoverseas smartphone sales had fallenby up to 40%. “Yes, (sales) havefallen 40%,” he said. But he gaveno further details on the salesplunge but a Huaweispokeswoman later clarified that hewas referring to a 40% fall from Mayto June in the wake of the USblacklist threat. Ren added,however, that sales growth inChina’s domestic marketremained “very fast”. Huawei wasthe world’s number twosmartphone producer last year,ahead of Apple and behind SouthKorea’s Samsung, as well as thelargest provider of telecomnetworking equipment. Huaweihas said it shipped a total of 206mill ion smartphones in 2018,about half in China and halfoverseas.Will regain vitality soon

Ren, 74, said Huawei planned tocut production by $30 billion overthe next two years to ride out thestorm. He did not specify which linesof business would be hit most.

Huawei earned just over $100billion in revenue in 2018, so a$30 billion reductionwould equate toabout 30% of lastyear’s overallbusiness. But Ren,who comparedHuawei to a damagedbut still-flying aircraft,added that heexpected the companyto be back on track.“In 2021, we wil l

regain our vitality and (continue to)provide services to human society,”he said. The US campaign hasalready spurred a number of majortechnology companies, includingleading semi-conductor suppliersand brands such as Facebook andGoogle, to suspend cooperationwith Huawei. In an analysis,global consultancy EurasiaGroup said Huawei “has l itt lehope of staying on the globalcutting edge in eithersmartphones or networkingtechnology as long as it remainson the US Entity List.”

“Over time, this wil l erodeHuawei’s ability to offer globallycompetitive products, and thecompany will likely be forced toresort to sell ing second-bestproducts in the domesticChinese market as it seeks torebuild its international businesswithout US technology,” it said.

Cities with mostbillionaires

�� Hong Kong, Beijing,Shenzhen and Hangzhou areamong the top 15 cities withthe most billionaires in theworld, according to the sixthedition of Wealth-X’sBillionaire Census report.New York tops the rankings,being home to 105billionaires last year. Chinahad 285 billionaires, theirtotal wealth reaching $996billion last year, while theUS had 705 bill ionaires,the highest worldwide,with a combined net worthof more than $3 trillion.

RAW MATERIAL PRICE

84


(BASIC SELLING PRICE w.e.f. 01-04-2018)

Basic price excluding excise duty/cess, salestax and any other charges.

Product PriceAccelerators (Rs. /Kg)Pilcure MBT 320.00Pilcure MBTS 330.00Pilcure F 360.00Pilcure CBS 400.00Pilcure MOR 440.00Pilcure ZDC 210.00Pilcure ZMBT 325.00Pilcure ZDBC 280.00Pilcure ZBzDC 420.00Pilcure TBzTD 500.00Pilcure TMT 195.00

Antioxidants/AntidegradantsPilflex 13 370.00Pilnox TDQ 270.00

Prevulcanisation InhibitorPilgard PVI 500.00Pilnox SP 240.00

Mafatlal House, 3RD Floor,H.T. Parekh Marg,Backbay Reclamation,Churchgate,Mumbai - 400 020Tel.No.:91-22-66576100/108/142

NOTE:1) All prices are basic prices, exclusive of GST and anyother levies as applicable

NATURAL RUBBER (INDIA)(Rs. /Quintal, Ex-Kottayam)

Grade July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2018RSS 4 15000 14050 12850 12350

RSS 5 14750 13750 12600 11700

ISNR 20 12500 12800 12400 11657

Latex (60% drc) 9825 9510 8455 8773

(Source: Rubber Board)

NOCIL Limited Rubo Chem Industries Pvt. Ltd.(Price of Rubber Chemicals as on 15-03-2017)

ACCELERATOR TMTD 200.00ACCELERATOR ZDC 224.00ACCELERATOR CBS 360.00ACCELERATOR MBT 250.00ACCELERATOR MBTS 285.00ACCELERATOR ZDBC 297.00ACCELERATOR ZMBT 305.00ANTIOXIDANT SP 219.00ANTIOXIDANT TDQ 225.00ALUMINIUM SILICATE 13.00BITUMIN 41.00BONDING AGENTS ON REQUESTCALCIUM SILICATE 13.50CHINA CLAY 6.50CALCIUM CARBONATE PRECIPITATED 15.00CALCIUM CARBONATE ACTIVATED 17.00CRUMB RUBBER-TRC 40 23.00CARBON BLACK-ORDINARY 40.00CARBON BLACK- ON REQUEST(HAF/GPF/FEF/SRF/ISAF)D.O.P./D.B.P. ON REQUESTEBONITE DUST-(BROWN) 55.00 95.00EBONITE DUST-(BLACK) 32.00FACTICE - BROWN 99.00FACTICE - WHITE 90.00GRAPHITE POWDER 50.00LIGHT MAGNESIUM CARBONATE ON REQUESTLIGHT MAGNESIUM OXIDE ON REQUESTPINE TAR - Synthetic 68.00PARAFFIN WAX ON REQUESTPROCESS OIL ON REQUESTPETROLEUM JELLY (WHITE) 100.00PETROLEUM RESIN 86.00PRECIPITATED SILICA 52.00RECLAIM RUBBER-BLACK 35.00SULPHUR 24.00SYNTHETIC RUBBERS ON REQUESTSYN.RED OXIDE 50.00SOLVENTS-MEK, TOLUENE ETC. ON REQUESTSTEARIC ACID(GODREJ) 78.00SILICONE EMULSION 70.00TALCUM POWDER 10.00TITANIUM DIOXIDE ON REQUESTWHITING POWDER(P&W) 6.50WOOD ROSIN 108.00/115.00ZINC HYDROXIDE 20.00ZINC STEARATE 65.00ZINC OXIDE-(RUBBER GRADE) 125.00ZINC OXIDE (WHITE SEAL) 199.00

**********Please note it is difficult to stick to prices especially minerals andpetroleum products as they fluctuate widely on weekly basis.

Dr. K N RAGHAVAN - Indian Rubber Journal

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