From 16 – 24 August 2021, an in-house-exhibition took place at LWB-Automation in Weinheim, Germany, which was aimed at pre-invited company teams and was very well received. One of the reasons for this was the "anti-corona security concept" with pre-booked "time-slots", which limited the number of visitors present at the same time. The side effect of these measures, which was perceived as positive by both sides, was that it made it possible to provide interested parties with individual and more in-depth support.

Mathias Miedreich has been appointed by Umicore’s Supervisory Board to succeed Marc Grynberg as CEO of the group in the fourth quarter of 2021. Marc Grynberg and Mathias Miedreich will work together to ensure an optimal onboarding and a smooth transition of leadership.

Black Bear has appointed Victor Vreeken as CEO, who started effective 13 August 2021 as successor to Silvio Ghyoot who decided to leave Black Bear to pursue opportunities outside the company.

Altair will present its design solutions for the plastics industry at Fakuma 2021, Friedrichshafen, Germany, 12 – 16 October 2021, in Hall B1, stand B1-1225. Highlights at the stand are: design-related simulation for component and tool development, integrative simulation, the Altair Material Data Center, and solutions from the Altair AI portfolio.

Zeon Chemicals Asia (ZCA) Co. Ltd., a group company of Zeon Corp., has begun commercial production of acrylic rubber at its site in Rayong Province, Thailand.

Hans-Jörg Feigel takes over responsibility for Continental’s central function Strategy and Future Solutions (AMS), effective 1 September 2021. In his role, Feigel also becomes a member of the Management Board of AMS. Feigel, who holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, succeeds Ralph Lauxmann, who took over the overall management lead for a customer project within Continental on 1 August 2021.

Malaysia is expected to continue to dominate the global glove market at least for the next few years amid the emergence of China as a major force. Hartalega Holdings Bhd, one of the world's largest producers, is confident of Malaysia retaining its leadership over the medium term despite rising competition from Chinese glove manufacturers.

As reported by various German news portals, including Rheinische Post, Handelsblatt and Süddeutsche Zeitung, on 3 September 2021, Covestro plans to cut up to 1,700 jobs worldwide, including more than 900 at its four German sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen, Krefeld and Brunsbüttel, by the end of 2023.

On 24 August 2021, Sika announced that it is acquiring Shenzhen Landun Holding Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of waterproofing systems in China. Financial details were not disclosed. Landun operates two modern production facilities where it manufactures a full range of membranes and coatings for various waterproofing applications, mainly supplying infrastructure and commercial projects.

On 18 August 2021, AirBoss of America Corp. announced that it has agreed to acquire 100 % ownership of Ace Elastomer, Inc., a custom rubber compounder with facilities in Rock Hill, SC, and Chicago, IL, USA.