Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber and Thailand's Rubber Authority (RAOT) have reached a new milestone in their long-term partnership to secure sustainable natural rubber, completing their tenth joint seminar to help smallholder farmers in Surat Thani improve rubber quality, productivity and working conditions across the supply chain.

Supporting smallholders at the heart of the rubber supply chain

The latest seminar, held in December 2025, brought together around 50 farming households from the Surat Thani region, one of Thailand's core natural rubber-producing areas and home to Yokohama Rubber's processing subsidiary Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd. The program focused on practical measures to improve yield and quality at farm level, a critical factor for tire makers who depend on consistent, traceable natural rubber as a key raw material.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber is deepening its sustainability strategy and raw materials risk management by supporting an international joint research project in Indonesia aimed at preventing rubber tree leaf fall diseases, a growing threat to global natural rubber production and the tire industry's long-term resilience.

Securing Natural Rubber at the Source in Indonesia

The company is cooperating in the multi-year project "Development of Complex Technologies for Prevention and Control of Rubber Tree Leaf Fall Diseases," which targets one of the most serious plant health challenges facing natural rubber plantations in Indonesia, the world's second-largest producer.
Leaf fall disease has become widespread in key growing regions, leading to significant yield losses and jeopardizing supply for industrial users, including tire manufacturers.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 10, 2025 - SK Chemicals is moving to secure full control over its circular plastics value chain by vertically integrating feedstock sourcing through a new joint venture and Feedstock Innovation Center (FIC) in China, positioning its depolymerization-based chemical recycling business for stronger cost competitiveness and supply stability across Asia-Pacific.

From Depolymerization Pioneer to Fully Integrated Circular Plastics Player

SK Chemicals has signed a joint venture agreement with Shaanxi-based recycler Kelinle to build the Feedstock Innovation Center, a dedicated facility for processing waste plastics into recycled raw materials. Located on an idle 13,200 m² site in Weinan, Shaanxi Province, the FIC will convert end-of-life plastics into PET pellets that feed SK Chemicals' depolymerization process.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 30, 2025 – CONICA AG will introduce “CONICA Made with Nike Grind” at FSB Cologne 2025 (Hall 10.2 | F051), adding recycled-shoe rubber to its polyurethane sports flooring systems. The move targets municipalities, architects, and installers seeking circular-economy materials that maintain professional performance while reducing waste across athletics tracks, multi-use courts, playgrounds, and tennis surfaces.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – SIPA is charting the future of refillable PET packaging with the debut of its XTRA 8 rotary blowmolder at Drinktec 2025, introducing an advanced, digitally intelligent platform that blends speed, sustainability, and precision engineering. Designed for the next generation of returnable bottle systems, the XTRA 8 positions SIPA as a frontrunner in the race toward smarter and greener beverage production.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – SIPA, a global leader in PET packaging and bottling technology, has introduced its new XLABL RF rotary roll-fed labeller — a breakthrough that completes the company’s fully integrated Sincro Tribloc System. This new machine enables a unified production flow from blowing and filling to labelling, achieving record-setting speeds of up to 90,000 bottles per hour.

A Fully Integrated Bottling Workflow for Modern Production Lines
The addition of the XLABL RF transforms SIPA’s Sincro Tribloc into a fully synchronized, closed-loop solution that minimizes complexity, reduces downtime, and elevates output efficiency. By integrating the labelling phase directly into the production sequence, manufacturers can streamline their operations without sacrificing precision or consistency.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – SIPA has unveiled the XFORM PRO, a next-generation PET preform system that merges mechanical innovation with digital intelligence. Building on the success of the XFORM Gen 4, the new platform delivers faster cycles, lower energy use, and seamless integration with the company’s new XBrain telemetric mold management system—marking a major leap forward in high-cavitation PET preform manufacturing.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – Italian packaging technology leader SIPA has introduced the new XFORM 160, a smart and scalable preform production system that targets low- to mid-volume bottlers and converters seeking high performance without high complexity. Positioned as the entry-level model in SIPA’s now fully integrated XFORM lineup—which includes the 160, 250, 350, and 500 systems—the machine marks a strategic move to make advanced preform manufacturing accessible to a broader range of producers.

Smart, Sustainable, and Scalable Performance
The XFORM 160 is designed to meet the shifting needs of a dynamic packaging market where sustainability, agility, and modular growth are key. With a compact footprint and plug-and-play setup, the system enables rapid installation and adaptability for small-scale bottlers, specialty converters, and new entrants to the PET packaging segment.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – SIPA has introduced the Sincro Tribloc, a fully integrated PET bottling solution that combines blowing, labelling, and filling in one compact unit. Designed for ultra-high-speed operations of up to 90,000 bottles per hour, the system redefines efficiency and sustainability standards for beverage manufacturers seeking leaner production and reduced total cost of ownership.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – Italian engineering firm SIPA has unveiled the ECS SP130, a next-generation Injection-Stretch-Blow Molding (ISBM) system that marks a major leap forward in packaging production. Designed entirely in Italy, the new machine is built to set a new global benchmark for productivity, quality, and operational versatility in the manufacturing of plastic containers.

Reinventing Performance and Clean Production Standards
The ECS SP130 is engineered to meet the most demanding industrial environments. Capable of handling blow pressures up to 38 bar, it ensures consistent performance even for containers with complex geometries. A “Clean Tech” system eliminates any risk of oil contamination in bottles — a crucial advantage for food and beverage applications where hygiene and purity are non-negotiable.