Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, said 92 % of all non-compliant chemicals in consumer products come from outside the European Union (EU), confirming an "urgent" need for EU member states to "step up" enforcement of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) in imports.

Black Bear, the Dutch ELT rubber upcycling company, has appointed Victor Vreeken as its new Chief Technology Officer. Victor Vreeken will lead the Black Bear’s efforts to scale-up and globally roll-out the company’s innovative circular technology to convert tire rubber into recovered carbon black, gas and biogenic oil. Before joining Black Bear, Vreeken spent over eight years at Avantium, active in the emerging industry of renewable and sustainable chemistry.

The German mobility supplier and a global market leader for gangway systems for buses and railway vehicles Hübner has announced that it will be divesting its automotive segment as of 1 April 2020. The business with injection-moulded plastic components will be sold to the automotive supplier Gotec Gorschlüter GmbH located in Wülfrath, Germany, close to Wuppertal. Gotec is a leading specialist for coating with rubber-metal adhesion promoters. The Hübner segment that will now be transferred includes the production of auto-body parts, car key shells, keypads and accelerator pedals. In the automotive segment Hübner was mainly active as a contract manufacturer. Annual revenues have been in the single-digit million range.

Vietnam’s key industries such as textiles, rubber and plastic must take measures to prepare for a shortage of raw materials as a result of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, warned industry leaders and economic experts. Firms may still have some breathing space having stocked up before the Lunar New Year holidays, but things could get tricky soon.

The Department of Chemistry and Earth Sciences of Belarus' National Academy of Sciences and the Volzhsky Research Institute of Hydrocarbon Raw Materials signed a science and technology cooperation agreement on 30 January 2020, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Embassy in Russia.

Singapore-based ChemOne Group will undertake a USD 3.38 billion project in Johor. The Pengerang Energy Complex (PEC) will be one of the world’s largest and most competitive integrated condensate splitter and aromatics facilities. Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2020, the company said in a statement on 5 February 2020. 

Evonik and BellaSeno GmbH, a developer of 3D printed absorbable scaffolds, have signed a long-term agreement for the use of a Resomer bioresorbable polymer for an innovative breast implant technology. BellaSeno will use the material in its Senella breast scaffold products with a proprietary additive manufacturing process.

Hera Kitwan Siu, chief executive officer, Greater China, for Cisco Systems, Inc., has been elected to the board of directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in December 2019. Since 2017, Siu, 59, has served as chief executive officer, Greater China, for Cisco Systems, a global technology leader that designs, manufactures, and sells internet protocol-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry.

Uptis, the puncture-proof tyre, has received three prestigious awards in a row: The Golden Steering Wheel Award 2019 in Germany, the Coyote Automobile Award 2020 in France, and the AVT Aces Award 2020 in the USA, Michelin said that these prizes are among the most prestigious in the automotive industry today. The French tyre company said that these awards are the recognition of nearly ten years of research. The Uptis prototype has already been the subject of more than 50 patents related to the design of its structure and its materials.

PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) and ALPLA have established a new joint venture, named Envicco, to build and operate a recycled plastics resin plant at the Asia Industrial Estate in Rayong Province, Thailand.