Sumitomo Rubber Industries has decided to deploy Rockwell Automation's manufacturing execution system (MES) platform at its largest domestic factory in Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

The factory will begin operations using the new platform in the second half of 2025.

This move comes as part of the company’s efforts to promote the use of digital technology in tyre production, aiming to enhance and streamline factory operations globally.

Kenji Saito, Executive Officer, General Manager of Manufacturing HQ, Tyre Business HQ Sumitomo Rubber Industries, said, “We believe that leveraging Rockwell Automation’s expertise and flexibility, and our strong partnership with PTC to the maximum will enable us to standardise manufacturing management and enhance operational efficiency globally, driving our growth. To implement DX management as set out in our management vision, we intend to deploy the MES system beginning with the domestic factory and other manufacturing sites thereafter. We will continue to collaborate with Rockwell Automation, a global leader in manufacturing, and embrace new challenges with a forward-looking approach, making full use of AI.”

James Glasson, Vice President, Global Industry Auto, Tire and Advanced Mobility, Rockwell Automation, said, “This initiative will enhance operating efficiency, minimise manufacturing risks, reduce implementation costs and significantly accelerate speed to market.”

In recent years, the manufacturing industry has faced numerous challenges, including rapid changes in the business environment and labour shortages due to Japan’s declining working-age population. To address these challenges, Sumitomo Rubber Industries has been working with PTC since 2019 to adopt PTC’s IoT platform and develop applications to integrate data across production lines and manufacturing sites.

This system has been rolled out at nine of the company’s 11 tyre manufacturing sites, including all four factories in Japan.

The deployment of the Rockwell Automation MES platform will accelerate data organisation and enable the accumulation and sharing of valuable data such as quality and production forecasts across the company. By linking the collected and managed data with the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, corporate management can gain a comprehensive view of manufacturing operations worldwide.

The Shirakawa Factory will begin operating the MES platform in the second half of 2025. After verifying its effectiveness by the end of 2026, Sumitomo Rubber Industries aims to standardise and roll out the platform to its factories in Japan and overseas.

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NASA has launched a three-phase competition offering USD 155,000 in prizes to develop next-generation wheels for lunar rovers, as the US space agency prepares for sustained exploration missions to the Moon’s surface.

The “Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge” seeks lightweight, durable wheel designs capable of traversing the Moon’s harsh terrain of razor-sharp regolith whilst maintaining performance in extreme temperature variations and carrying substantial cargo loads at higher speeds.

The competition addresses critical mobility challenges facing future lunar missions, where traditional rover wheels have struggled with the Moon’s abrasive surface materials and temperature extremes that can plummet to minus 173 degrees Celsius during lunar nights.

“The next era of lunar exploration demands a new kind of wheel – one that can sprint across razor-sharp regolith, shrug off extremely cold nights, and keep a rover rolling day after lunar day,” NASA stated in announcing the challenge.

The programme unfolds across three distinct phases. Phase 1, which opened on 28 August and runs until 4 November 2025, will reward the best conceptual designs and analyses. Phase 2, scheduled for January through April 2026, will fund prototype development. The final phase in May-June 2026 will test leading designs through live obstacle courses simulating lunar conditions.

For the concluding phase, NASA will deploy MicroChariot, a 45-kilogram test rover, to evaluate top-performing wheel designs at the Johnson Space Centre Rockyard facility in Houston, Texas. The testing ground will simulate the challenging lunar terrain that future missions must navigate.

The competition remains open to diverse participants, from university student teams and independent inventors to established aerospace companies, reflecting NASA’s broader strategy of engaging private sector innovation for space exploration technologies.

NASA mobility engineers will provide ongoing feedback throughout the competition phases, offering participants insights from the agency’s extensive experience in planetary rover operations, including successful missions to Mars.

The challenge comes as NASA intensifies preparations for the Artemis programme, which aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon and serve as a stepping stone for eventual Mars exploration missions.

Current lunar rover designs have faced limitations in speed, cargo capacity, and durability when operating across the Moon’s challenging surface conditions, creating demand for breakthrough mobility solutions that can support extended surface operations.

The competition timeline positions Phase 2 prototype funding to commence in January 2026, allowing successful Phase 1 participants several months to refine their concepts before advancing to hardware development.

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VMI will display its automated Strainer Plate Cleaning Station, a significant innovation designed to address a longstanding challenge within the rubber manufacturing industry, at the upcoming Global Polymer Summit in Cleveland. This comes at a critical time of rapid economic expansion in the United States, largely fuelled by construction and industrial renewal, which is driving increased demand for high-quality, efficiently produced rubber components.

These components are essential across a vast spectrum of applications, from microscopic seals and industrial machinery to pipelines and specialised products for extreme environments. To keep pace, US manufacturers are actively seeking advanced equipment that combines superior quality, shorter lead times and robust stateside support. For over two decades, VMI has met these exact needs from its Ohio operations, offering German-engineered solutions supported by responsive local service.

The new Strainer Plate Cleaning Station exemplifies VMI's pioneering ‘Hands-off, Eyes-off’ automation philosophy, previously applied to its industry-standard tyre building machines. This system utilises advanced robotics to completely transform what has traditionally been one of the most labour-intensive, unpleasant and hazardous jobs in a rubber factory. The automated Strainer Plate Cleaning Station will be demonstrated in operation at VMI’s booth, number 1430, during the Global Polymer Summit from 8th to 11th September.

The benefits of this automation are substantial. Companies can reallocate skilled workers to more value-added production roles, thereby boosting overall productivity and driving down unit costs. This enhanced efficiency allows businesses to become more competitive and responsive to dynamic market demands. The system integrates seamlessly with VMI’s extrusion and gear pump systems, which are backed by proprietary management software that enables the flexible production of both standard and highly specialised components on a single platform.

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The Qingdao Municipal Government Information Office recently hosted a media briefing on ‘Shandong's Top Brands on the Industrial Chain – Intelligent Equipment Industrial Chain’ at the MESNAC Jiaozhou Equipment Industrial Park. Senior leaders from MESNAC and three other prominent firms were in attendance to present their advancements and field questions from journalists.

A central focus was on MESNAC's proprietary ROC R&D platform, a unique modular system engineered specifically for the rubber equipment sector. This platform is fundamentally structured around client requirements, integrating comprehensive product design, technological development and rigorous testing protocols. This architecture facilitates a configurable development process, allowing for both large-scale customisation and remarkably agile product delivery. The company's operational philosophy was explained as a dedicated team model, where a single unit focuses its expertise on one product for its entire lifecycle. This meticulous approach has generated significant industry innovations in recent years, including fully automatic material weighing systems, unmanned tire building machinery and intelligent tyre curing press workshops capable of operating as fully unmanned ‘lights-out’ facilities.

The event included a practical demonstration of this technology in action. Attendees witnessed the NPS Semi-steel One-stage Building Machine, which achieves a single-tyre production cycle of just 35 seconds through complete automation. This system boasts world-class efficiency, requiring only one person to supervise multiple machines simultaneously. It embodies a new generation of intelligent manufacturing by seamlessly integrating cutting-edge technologies such as precision machine vision, industrial robotics, sophisticated industrial IoT software and autonomous learning capabilities.

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NEXEN TIRE has inaugurated a cutting-edge High Dynamic Driving Simulator at its Magok-based NEXEN UniverCity R&D centre in Seoul. A first-of-its-kind installation within the South Korean tyre industry, this advanced system represents a pivotal step in modernising tyre development by leveraging virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

The simulator functions by creating a highly realistic virtual driving environment. Engineers can input specific vehicle data and parameters to conduct precise testing of performance metrics such as acceleration, braking and handling across a diverse range of simulated road conditions, all within a controlled laboratory setting.

This technological advancement is expected to significantly streamline NEXEN TIRE’s research and development operations. It will reduce the need for physical prototypes and extensive real-world vehicle tests, which in turn accelerates development cycles and lowers associated costs. A major strategic benefit is the enhanced ability to meet the exacting performance standards required by global automakers for original equipment tyres, especially for new and high-performance vehicle models.

The shift towards virtual testing also supports the company's sustainability objectives by diminishing the fossil fuel consumption typically involved in traditional road testing, thereby supporting its broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. This move aligns with a larger industry trend where automakers are rapidly adopting virtual processes to improve efficiency.

Looking forward, NEXEN TIRE plans to build upon this simulator to establish a comprehensive Full Virtual Development Process. This long-term strategy aims to integrate advanced simulation with finite element method analysis and AI, ultimately working towards a future where physical testing is largely replaced by virtual validation.

John Bosco (Hyeon Suk) Kim, CEO, NEXEN TIRE, said, “Ahead of the industry trend towards virtual development of vehicles and tyres, the establishment of our High Dynamic Driving Simulator is a strategic investment to lead the future mobility sector. By combining VR and AI technologies, we will enhance both the efficiency and precision of our R&D while contributing to ESG management, thereby strengthening our global competitiveness.”

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