Like its peers, the Sri Lankan rubber industry has been hard hit by the COVID 19. However, the pandemics will bring some opportunities to the sector, believes Ravi Dadlani, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Products (SLAMERP), and MD of CEAT Kelani Holdings. “The demand for PPE is high and will be sustained in time to come until COVID 19 is no longer a pandemic. Especially gloves and other wearables made of rubber will be a good area for the Sri Lankan rubber industry to focus on,” says Dadlani an interview with Tyre Trends.

How do you see the impact of COVID 19 on Sri Lanka’s rubber industry?

Sri Lanka, like all exporting countries, have been largely impacted. The shutdown has caused a tremendous loss both in terms of production and the subsequent shut down of countries resulting in the cancellation of orders widely across the tyre industry. We are concerned that the impact fully on the industry is still to be realised. We will, once the supply chain and the related industries come back online, be able to quantify the extent of the impact. We are however positive that the Sri Lanka rubber industry is poised to benefit from the need arising from the COVID 19 impact. Especially the demand for PPE is high and will be sustained in time to come until COVID 19 is no longer a pandemic. Especially gloves and other wearables made of rubber will be a good area for the Sri Lankan rubber industry to focus on. Also, the government suspension of importing of tyres is poised to increase demand for domestic manufacturers of tyres at least in the short term, which will be a boost to the local rubber industry. Impact on the loss of exports and the timings of the opening of overseas markets would be critical at this point. 

The rubber industry has always been the country’s one of the main sectors and exporters. Do you think that the industry currently is being explored to its fullest potential?

There is a lot of potential for rubber in Sri Lanka. The need to increase the production of rubber through productivity improvements and the need to extend the rubber growing acreage is critical at this time. We have leading manufacturers of international repute and strong local manufacturers catering to export markets both in the tyre and gloves segments. 

The country also has the potential to enter new markets and customer segments with new products. There is more that needs to be done in terms of R&D and technological collaborations to enter high-value rubber-based product segments. With major global brands producing in Sri Lanka, we have a greater ability to increase trading activity and improve international sales as a regional hub for the industry.

What kind of support do you expect from the government and industry-related bodies for the long term?

Firstly, the rubber sector was the first to benefit from the priority given by the government initiative to commence operations. The sector benefited by the fast track approval to be classified as an essential sector. We expect the government to continue to have consistency when it comes to policy matters. We are also seeing a strong support base coming in terms of the Board of Investment and the Export Development Board for the rubber cluster. We need to fast track the planned policy-based approach of increasing rubber production in the country through the rubber master plan, with incentives if need be for plantations to spearhead this initiative. Also, research and development on rubber yield increase, all-weather rubber tapping techniques need to be introduced with governments thrust towards increasing rubber production.

There should also be incentives for exporters to invest in high-value rubber product manufacturing. We expect the government to educate the smallholders with international best practices to manage the rubber crop for better yield and output through RDD & RRI as key government institutions. The industry prefers to buy more local rubber, but there is a shortfall every year vs the demand. We also need to drive the public-private partnership research & development and must invest more in laboratory and testing facilities to provide certifications that are required for the export markets within Sri Lanka. The Government will also need to look at domestic supply chain inefficiencies which may hold back on the growth potential of the industry.

When we talk about tyres, how does the Sri Lankan tyre industry make its mark globally, especially in the solid tyre segment?

Absolutely it does. Sri Lanka is considered market leaders in certain categories of the solid tyre export segment. There are the numbers of global and local companies operating out of Sri Lanka holding a good foothold in the global solid tyre market. The global rubber industry is worth around USD 400 billion, out of which 65% is the tyre industry, given this, we have a market that we can increase our supply of both off road and on-road tyres, Sri Lanka has aggressively ventured into the global pneumatic agriculture, Off-road and industrial tyre segment which is estimated at USD 44b. We are confident that this position of strength will be maintained in the future, too in these segments. 

What are the challenges for tyre and rubber goods, especially for small and medium enterprises?

Key is the availability of rubber at consistent prices at the right quantities throughout the year. Currently, the industry is hampered with weather-related shortfalls in production coupled with plantations moving away from rubber and more profitable ventures depleting the total output. We consume 140,000 MT, and the local production is at 75,000 MT. Addressing these two areas will result in a stable supply of rubber for industries. It is very important that SMEs adopt technology and increase productivity and production to cater to the demand for rubber. 

END

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ARLANXEO has strengthened its role in the synthetic rubber industry by expanding its marketing and sales agreement for EPDM rubber produced by Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (PRC), a joint stock company formed under the laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This new arrangement became effective in February 2026, granting ARLANXEO exclusive rights to market all EPDM grades coming from PRC’s facilities, which will continue to be sold under the Keltan KSA product name.

This extension of the Keltan KSA business highlights ARLANXEO’s dedicated commitment to the worldwide EPDM market. By combining the original Keltan line with the Keltan KSA portfolio, the company now offers customers a uniquely broad and comprehensive range of EPDM solutions, ensuring a more complete service across diverse applications.

John Sawaya, Chief Business Officer, ARLANXEO, said, “Through this expanded agreement, we are further enhancing ARLANXEO’s position as the global supplier for EPDM synthetic rubber.”

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Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd. has been named ‘India’s Leading ESG Entity’ by Dun & Bradstreet in its report, ‘ESG Horizons: Now and Next 2026’. The honour acknowledges how deeply the company has woven environmental, social and governance considerations into its main business approach. By focusing on clean technologies and building out the lithium-ion battery value chain, Himadri proves that responsible manufacturing and sustainable expansion go hand in hand.

Dun & Bradstreet arrived at this decision using its own ESG Intelligence Framework Rating, which looked closely at the company’s performance during FY25 across key environmental, social and governance indicators. Winning this distinction shows how consistently Himadri works to generate lasting value for everyone connected to the business while keeping industrial practices responsible. Anurag Choudhary, CMD and CEO, Himadri Speciality Chemical, has explained that ESG thinking drives their innovation efforts from the ground up. Through breakthroughs in advanced materials and battery technology, the firm actively pushes forward the global movement towards a cleaner economy.

Several real-world achievements back up Himadri’s reputation for sustainability leadership. All eight of its manufacturing sites operate on a zero-liquid discharge basis. The company generates enough clean power internally to cover 100 percent of its electrical energy needs. Beyond environmental measures, Himadri has also built a strong global presence, supplying specialised chemical solutions to clients spread across 56 different countries.

A business model rooted heavily in research and development along with circular use of resources allows Himadri to keep sustainability at the centre of its growth story. By integrating these principles rather than treating them as an afterthought, the company ensures its long-term impact on both industry and the environment remains positive.

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How Dr Gerard Nijman de-mystified the ‘black magic’ of tyre engineering.

In the high-stakes, multi-billion-dollar world of automotive engineering, where the screeching captures the headlines, Dr Gerard Nijman focuses on the quiet, molecular drama happening just inches from the asphalt. To the uninitiated, a tyre is a simple black circle of rubber. To Nijman, it is a visco-elastic masterpiece, a complex soup of polymers, fillers and oils that behaves according to laws of physics that many in the industry once dismissed as ‘black magic’.

Recently, the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society announced Dr Nijman as the recipient of the Fernley H. Banbury Award. It is one of the highest honours in the field, a recognition of a lifetime spent bridging the gap between the ‘black magic’ of the factory floor and the cold precision of laboratory rheology.

Now, two months after it was announced, I feel proud of being awarded and it is an acknowledgement of my contributions to rubber processing,” Dr Nijman says, reflecting on a career that has spanned nearly four decades. “However, if I consider the enormous lineup of previous winners, I still cannot realise that I am a part of it... I am probably still too humble to really enjoy it.”

THE FRIDAY EVENING CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Dr Nijman’s journey into the world of elastomers didn’t begin with a lifelong passion for tyres, but rather with a fortuitous interruption. In 1987, he was deep into a PhD project focusing on molecular orientation in injection-moulded products. His trajectory seemed set for a traditional academic or specialised research path until a Friday evening phone call changed his life.

The caller was the P&O Manager of Vredestein, the Dutch tyre manufacturer. He was looking for a process engineer, specifically someone who understood the complexities of extrusion. For Dr Nijman, it was an opportunity to apply his theoretical knowledge to a massive industrial scale without abandoning his roots.

“For this position, I did not really have to leave my comfort zone, so I decided to join Vredestein on a 50 percent basis while I completed my PhD project,” Dr Nijman recalls. At the time, the industry’s understanding of material flow was rudimentary. The ‘gold standard’ was the Mooney viscosity test – a simple measurement that Nijman knew was insufficient for the high-speed, high-heat world of modern manufacturing.

“I was fascinated by rheology and especially how the material morphology was related to the processing behaviour. At Vredestein, the common understanding of Rheology was ‘Mooney viscosity’, but somehow, I could make them clear that understanding processing means that one must understand the (thermo-)rheological behaviour and morphological characteristics of rubber compound in much more detail,” he says.

SEEING THROUGH ‘SCIENTIFIC GLASSES’

Dr Nijman attributes much of his success to a trio of mentors who helped him synthesise his disparate skills. His PhD supervisor, Prof Ingen Housz, taught him the fundamental skill of ‘looking at industrial processes through scientific glasses’. It was this ability to analyse a complex, messy industrial problem until the root cause was exposed that set Dr Nijman apart.

At Vredestein, his first boss, Albert Dijks, built his confidence by handing him immense responsibility early on. Meanwhile, Kees Hettema taught him the art of the deal – how to negotiate with customers – and Matthias Sieverding of KraussMaffei Berstorff eventually gave him the reins to lead an entire business unit.

“What I learned from all of them is that, while believing in what you are doing, you should not be afraid of answering difficult questions from your stakeholders,” Dr Nijman notes. This philosophy allowed him to navigate the friction that often exists when a scientist tries to tell a factory veteran that their decades-old ‘gut feeling’ might be wrong.

BREAKING THE SPELL OF ‘BLACK MAGIC’

In the 1980s and 90s, rubber manufacturing was often viewed as more art than science. When a production line ran into trouble, solutions were often found through trial and error. “Suddenly, problems were solved without really knowing why,” Dr Nijman explains. “It was commonly called ‘black magic’.”

Dr Nijman became one of the first engineers to replace that magic with math. He realised that the complex technological hurdles of the industry – irregular shrinkage, surface defects and inconsistent quality – could be solved through a rigorous rheological approach.

His most transformative moment came during the ‘Green Tyre’ revolution of the early 90s. Michelin had just introduced silica-based compounds, which offered lower rolling resistance and better wet grip. While industry giants like Goodyear were still scrambling to adapt, the smaller Vredestein successfully implemented the technology.

The secret weapon was Nijman’s understanding of the microstructure. He recognised that silica compounds were a different beast entirely from the traditional carbon black mixtures. “We looked at the compounds’ processing behaviour by looking to the degree of freedom of the rubber molecules moving around in their microstructure,” he says.

By understanding how silica hindered or helped the ‘relaxation’ of rubber molecules after extrusion, Dr Nijman was able to control ‘extrudate swell’ – the tendency of rubber to expand like a sponge after being squeezed through a die. Without this scientific insight, manufacturers faced uncontrolled shrinkage, leading to tyres that simply didn’t fit the rim.

THE PORSCHE 911 CHALLENGE: WHEN THEORY MEETS THE ROAD

Perhaps the most gruelling test of Dr Nijman’s career wasn’t a tyre at all, but a piece of high-performance aerodynamics: the active front spoiler for the Porsche 911 Turbo. This rubber lip had to deploy at high speeds via air bellows and retract perfectly through its own elasticity once the car slowed down.

The stakes were astronomical. Porsche demanded ‘A1 surface quality’ – meaning the rubber had to be absolutely flawless, with zero visual defects and uncompromised functionality, all while meeting the strict Start of Production (SOP) deadlines of one of the world’s most iconic cars.

“Naming it a challenge was an understatement,” Dr Nijman admits. The project required a total immersion in the material’s behaviour. Dr Nijman describes his method as almost meditative: “I try to be part of the microstructure of the rubber compound on its way from rubber slab to the shape in which it is conveyed. Then I am able to ‘observe’ my surrounding and to ‘see’ what happens with the rubber molecules in their world of fillers, process oils and chemicals.”

THE DIGITAL TRAP: A WARNING TO THE NEXT GENERATION

As Dr Nijman prepares to retire at the end of this year, he looks at the current state of engineering with a mix of admiration and concern. Today’s engineers have access to powerful simulations and AI that Dr Nijman could only dream of in 1987. However, he warns that these tools can be a double-edged sword.

“Engineers tend to believe the results of such simulations are true without critical interpretation,” he says. “In the world of rubber, where chemistry and physics are constantly shifting during the heat of production, a computer model can only go so far. A rubber compound behaves truly visco-elastic. This is not something you can ignore.”

He has observed a shift where younger engineers prefer to solve problems via the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) rather than walking the shop floor. To Dr Nijman, the smell of the rubber and the heat of the extruder are essential data points that a laptop cannot capture. “Both must be done to successfully solve the production problem.”

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: THE FINAL FRONTIER

Dr Nijman isn’t using his retirement to slow down; instead, he’s refocusing on the industry’s biggest challenge: sustainability. He believes the next decade of tyre technology won’t just be about grip or speed, but about energy.

“Both tyre manufacturers and extrusion line suppliers should focus more on how to save energy and how to recover heat,” he asserts. He points out a glaring blind spot in current research: while everyone wants ‘sustainable’ compounds, few are looking at reducing the viscosity of the rubber itself – the single biggest factor in how much energy a factory consumes to shape a product.

Reducing scrap and optimising heat recovery, he argues, will require a deeper cooperation between research institutes and manufacturers. “There is still a lot more to be explored scientifically,” he says.

THE LEGACY OF A ‘HUMBLE’ EXPERT

For those entering the field today, Dr Nijman’s advice is simple: love the work, or leave it. But if you stay, never stop asking ‘why’.

“Pursue to deeply understand the problem before you start solving it,” he counsels. “Rubber processing and tyre manufacturing is very exciting... especially if you love being on the shop floor and, at the same time, if you are able to continuously interpret your observations.”

As he prepares to accept the Banbury Award, Dr Nijman remains the same engineer who once spent his Friday nights thinking about molecular orientation. He has spent his career making the complex simple – so simple, in fact, that he measures his success by a unique metric.

“It helped me a lot to realise to explain very complex situations in a way that my mother-in-law would understand,” he says. “That is how I could realise breakthroughs.”

The ‘black magic’ of rubber is gone, replaced by the lifelong work of a man who decided to step out of his comfort zone and look at the world through scientific glasses. Dr Gerard Nijman didn’t just engineer tyres; he engineered a more precise, sustainable and understood future for the entire industry

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HS HYOSUNG ADVANCED MATERIALS has completed and commenced operation of a 17.5-MWp rooftop solar power installation at its facility in Vietnam’s Nhon Trach Industrial Park, located within Dong Nai Province. This marks a significant step in the company’s broader effort to reshape its Vietnam operations – its largest global manufacturing base for tyre cords and technical yarns – into what it terms a ‘Smart Green Factory’. By merging renewable energy infrastructure with digital energy management systems, developed in partnership with the energy IT specialist Nuriflex, the firm is positioning this site at the forefront of its transition towards becoming a global eco-friendly manufacturing hub.

A key element of this transformation is the deployment of an Internet of Things based energy management system, which allows for real-time oversight of electricity generation and equipment performance. This digital layer not only streamlines operational efficiency but also contributes to greater equipment reliability and overall productivity gains, ensuring that the integration of renewable energy delivers tangible improvements beyond simple power generation.

With further solar installations set to be completed by August, total rooftop capacity at the Nhon Trach site will reach 37.5 MWp. Once fully operational in the latter half of the year, HS HYOSUNG ADVANCED MATERIALS anticipates annual electricity cost savings exceeding KRW 6 billion (approximately USD 3.94 million), bolstering its cost competitiveness. The expansion is also expected to deliver meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, reinforcing the company’s long-term commitment to sustainable management practices.

Through advanced energy IoT solutions, the Vietnam subsidiary now systematically manages carbon reduction data generated from its solar power operations. This capability enables a more structured response to rising demands from major global customers – including Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Continental and Pirelli – for verified renewable energy usage and carbon emissions information. By strengthening its ESG performance across the supply chain, the company is leveraging its solar infrastructure and smart energy management not merely as facility investments but as strategic tools to enhance environmental responsibility and competitiveness in a market where sustainable value chains are increasingly essential.

“Starting with our Vietnam production base, we are simultaneously promoting renewable energy transition and energy efficiency improvements across our operations. By expanding solar power facilities, we will strengthen both cost competitiveness and ESG capabilities while proactively responding to the evolving requirements of our global customers,” said an official from HS HYOSUNG ADVANCED MATERIALS.

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