Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - Hertford, U.K. - Rubber Division, ACS. is expanding its international educational outreach program for students. The strategy to drive student engagement and spread and accelerate innovation among the next generation of rubber industry professionals worldwide will be spearheaded by Rubber Division, ACS, European representative, U.K.-based Rubber Heart Ltd. in collaboration with its Membership and Outreach Director Heather Maimone. The key ambition of the initiative is to bring more young scientists from all backgrounds at undergraduate and graduate level studying any aspect of elastomer chemistry, technology and engineering to the Rubber Division, ACS, community by increasing student membership and participation in its Student Chapter program. Rubber Division, ACS, already offers the most comprehensive training and educational program for the rubber industry in the world and quickly reacted to the challenges of moving all courses and webinars onto a digital platform, opening up participation to a whole new audience outside of the U.S. To date, more than 1,000 participants have taken advantage of this ambitious program in 2020. In an effort to support students during the challenging times the pandemic has presented, Rubber Division, ACS, student members have particularly benefitted with access to all training courses and webinars for no fee, participation included with the annual membership fee of $25. The organization plans to make this a membership benefit for undergraduate student members. With the announcement that the Rubber Division, ACS, International Elastomer Conference 2020 (IEC, October 19-23) is to be a virtual event (registration is now open at www.rubberiec.org), student members who would have never have had the opportunity to attend this key global rubber industry conference in person are now being offered free registration to the whole experience and can hear about topics relevant to the industry. This includes the Technical Meeting, Educational Symposium and Student Colloquium, where presentations and courses will be offered as a live and on demand combination with all registrants having access to the virtual platform until January 20, 2021. The Rubber Division, ACS, Student Chapter program is another way in which students can benefit from the learning and networking opportunities, but with added significant financial support and scholarship opportunities. The program is open to all universities and colleges throughout the world, with the opportunity for smaller faculties to partner together for country or larger regional Student Chapters. To set up, each Student Chapter needs a faculty advisor and a minimum of six student members, and benefits include complimentary Student Membership, registration to the technical meetings at the Rubber Division, ACS, Spring Meeting and IEC, and opportunities for networking and career development. There is a very visible proven track record that the skills students develop from taking advantage of early engagement with Rubber Division, ACS, during their studies can be particularly beneficial for their future careers in the industry, opening up some great opportunities in global companies.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - Amherst, NY - Keli Chemical has increased CPE production at both of its manufacturing locations to accommodate increased usage in the U.S. amidst a major competitor shutdown. Keli Chemical manufactures all grades of rubber CPE for hose, wire and cable, adhesive and other market segments. Keli has a wide range of plastic CPE grades to enhance impact properties in PVC and other plastic substrates. Keli is the only CPE supplier with two manufacturing locations. Both are located in government-approved industrial zones, allowing the company uninterrupted supply. Current capacity is 170,000 metric tons per year. Keli also increased its production of TAC and TAIC used as a coagent in most rubber and plastic products that use peroxide and radiation cure systems to enhance high temperature stability and end product properties. Keli Chemical offers new CPE grades to help improve shelf life and processability. Visit https://www.arpmaterials.com for more information about these specific grades.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - Paris, France - Safic-Alcan announces the appointment of Domenico Lo Curto as business development director for plastics. Lo Curto took his position September 7. Prior to joining Safic-Alcan, Lo Curto spent half of his career working in technical roles, from research and development to operations and technical assistance in the field of polyamides and additives for plastics. Lo Curto then served for more than 15 years as global sales director in engineering plastics and polyolefins, but also held several positions as product manager of business development, as well as project manager for significant investments in new and innovative business units related to specialty polymers. Lo Curto held those senior global leader roles at multinational companies such as Domo, Aquafil EP, Nexeo, Softer, Rhodia and Great Lakes. He brings 30 years of experience in engineering plastics and additives, with strong expertise in compounding, transformation and polymerization, as well as a good team leader spirit in a cross-cultural environment. "We are delighted to welcome Domenico to our leadership team and are confident that his global management expertise, high technical skills and his personality will enhance Safic-Alcan’s plastics business development," stated Philippe Cenreaud, managing director, rubber and plastics. "I am very happy to join Safic-Alcan, an innovative company with whom I share key values of ethics, respect and sustainable development, and I am looking forward to bringing my contribution to the long lasting growth of the group," stated Lo Curto. Lo Curto, 56, holds a degree in chemistry from the University of Milano and an MBA from the University of Bologna (Italy).

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - Bangkok, Thailand - Rubber & Tire Research announces the following free webinars available at www.researchandinnovations-webinars.com: Highly Impermeable Tire Inner Liner: Manufacturing Technology with Graphene, eptember 30 (Wednesday). 4 p.m. India, presented by T.R. Aswathy and Kinsuk Naskar, Rubber Technology Center, IIT, Kharagpur, India; Effect of Mixing Parameters on Properties of Carbon-Black Filled SBR, October 13 (Tuesday), 4 p.m. Thailand, presented by Dr. Jirawat Narongthong and Dr. Chakrit Sirisinha, Rubber Technology Research Center, Mahidol University, Thailand; Effects of Electron Beam (EB) Irradiation in Allergenic Protein Control in Natural Rubber Latex, October 21 (Wednesday), 2 p.m. Thailand, presented by Dr. Adun Nimpaiboon, Rubber Technology Research Center, Mahidol University, Thailand; Role of Hybrid Coagent on Performance of Silica-Filled HNBR Treated with TESPT and VTEO Silanes, October 29 (Thursday), 4 p.m. Thailand, presented by Dr. Manuchet Nillawong and Dr. Chakrit Sirisinha, Rubber Technology Research Center, Mahidol University, Thailand; Next Generation TPV Nanocomposites Technology for Automotive Industry Applications, November 2 (Monday), 4 p.m. India, presented by Asit Baran Battacharya and Kinsuk Naskar, Rubber Technology Center, IIT, Kharagpur, India; Adhesion Improvement Between Natural Rubber and Ethylene Methylacrylate Copolymer by Surface Chlorination, November 27 (Friday), 2 p.m. Thailand, presented by Dr. Sombat Thanawan, Dr. Siriwat Radabutra and Dr. Taweechai Amornsakchai, Mahidol University, Thailand; and Natural Rubber Composites for Motion Sensor and Future Applications, December 2 (Wednesday), 4 p.m. Thailand, presented by Dr. Yeampon Nakaramontri, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand. All interested professionals from the rubber and tire industries across the world can register for these webinars for free.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - Akron, OH - Myers Industries, Inc. announced the appointment of Dan Hoehn as the company’s interim chief financial officer effective September 18, following the mutual agreement of the company and Kevin Brackman, former executive vice president and chief financial officer, to separate effective September 18. The company will engage a nationally recognized firm to undertake a comprehensive search to identify a permanent chief financial officer. Hoehn has served as the company’s vice president, corporate controller since August 13, 2019. Prior to joining the company, Hoehn served as vice president, controller and chief accounting officer for Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. for four years. Prior to 2015, he held various finance leadership roles with Chiquita Brands International, Inc., including vice president, controller. “Dan brings significant professional financial and accounting experience, and we’re pleased to have him lead our finance team at this important time of executive transition and ongoing evolution of our company,” said Mike McGaugh, president and chief executive officer. “I am confident that Dan will continue to provide valuable insight as part of our leadership team as we work to identify and appoint a permanent CFO.” McGaugh continued, “We thank Kevin for his years of contributions to the company, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.” These changes are not the result of any matters relating to the company’s accounting practices or financial statements.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - The Woodlands, TX - Huntsman Advanced Materials announced the launch of the Araldite 2000 adhesive core range, designed to help businesses across virtually every industry to maximize productivity by covering up to 80 percent of all bonding needs, from assembling high-performance products to making repairs in tough conditions. The Araldite adhesive core range comprises nine high-performance adhesives that can simplify product selection, reduce stock keeping unit (SKU) inventory and minimize worker training. The range is readily available through the company's global network of distributors to help customers mitigate supply chain risks and safeguard the production process. The Araldite adhesive core range consists of three technologies: epoxy, acrylic and polyurethane. These include adhesive products that are resistant to impact, high temperatures, water and chemicals, while offering a variety of colors, open times, viscosities and appearances. These high-performance products enable greater innovation, performance and sustainability, with well-proven applications across bus and truck, rail, wind, marine and general industry. Meeting the most stringent industry safety standards, the range includes products with KIWA approval, Lloyd’s Register approval and conformity to HL3 requirements, Class R1 and R7, of the Railway European Fire Protection Standard EN 45545-2. Huntsman is said to have been a pioneer in class-leading adhesives for more than 70 years. The firm also offers more than 200 other specialty adhesives for even the most demanding tasks. In addition, the company provides development support across simulation, testing and processing to help make customer ideas possible.