On 30 June 2020 Recticel announced the successful completion of the divestment of its 50 % stake in the Eurofoam Flexible Foams joint venture, and the two-step divestment of its Automotive Interiors division. Both transactions were announced on 6 April 2020.

Feica, the Association of the European Adhesive and Sealant Industry, has published a Summary Report of a Feica risk assessment carried out on cyclic esters potentially present in polyester adhesives intended to be used in food contact materials.

Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd. has announced its intention to open a new manufacturing line to produce epoxy encapsulation composite materials at its Belgian production subsidiary Vyncolit NV. The investment will provide local production capacity and prototyping facilities for specialist encapsulation materials in the automotive and new mobility fields in Europe, with the company aiming to reach sales in the encapsulation compound market of JPY 12 billion by the 2025 fiscal year. The production line is expected to come online for industrial supply in early 2022, with a capacity of several thousand tonnes per annum.

The organizing committee for the SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) announced the transition from an in-person event to a virtual platform for its 20th anniversary event.

Continental is equipping the wind turbines made by Chinese manufacturer Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology with drive belts. In the patented construction, the belts manufactured at Continental’s Dannenberg location in Germany allow the rotor blades to be adjusted at any time without the aid of gears or hydraulics.

RadiciGroup has announced a reorganisation of its sales network in Germany and has appointed B. Bigler AG as the distributor for the German market for a wide product range including the Heraflex TPE portfolio. Bigler, based in Zug, CH, and part of Dolder Group, has a sales net and logistics hub in Weiterstadt.

Europur announced on 17 June 2020 that foam plant across Europe are reopened and operational again. This announcement followed earlier notes in April on the state of the PU foam production and was again based on interviews with member companies and experts of the foam industry. Plants that were closed in April were gradually reopened during May.

Continental’s Tire business has now bundled all activities and projects in the area of sustainability in a newly created department under the leadership of Claus Petschick as part of its “Vision 2030” strategy program.

Aramco has announced the successful completion of its share acquisition of a 70 % stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, for a total purchase price of USD 69.1 billion on 17 June 2020.

Sika has acquired Modern Waterproofing Group, a leading manufacturer of roofing and waterproofing systems in Egypt. The acquisition supplements the product portfolio of Sika Egypt and offers new opportunities for growth in the Egyptian construction market.