R.D. Abbott Company, Inc. announced that it has signed a revised distribution agreement with 3M for select fluoropolymers and additives accounts within the USA, effective from 1 April 2017.

Volvo Cars announced that it will start vehicle assembly operations in India in 2017. The new site will be located near Bangalore in southern India and focus on models based on the company’s SPA modular vehicle architecture.

Freudenberg announced that it will invest EUR 15 million to construct a new production facility for sealing solutions among other products in Chennai, India.

Effective from 7 June 2017, Assocomaplast, the Italian trade association of manufacturers of plastics and rubber processing machinery and moulds, has changed its name Amaplast.

Clariant and Huntsman Corporation have presented a first update on the planned merger of equals to keep their shareholders informed. According to the companies, the preparations to create HuntsmanClariant, a leading global specialty chemicals company, are showing continued strong progress and are proceeding as planned with an unchanged closing targeted for December 2017 / January 2018.

AkzoNobel announced that its Specialty Chemicals business is investing more than EUR 20 million to increase production capacity of its Stockvik facility near Sundsvall, Sweden, for its Expancel product line of expandable microspheres.

The 18th edition of the tyre design and tyre manufacturing exhibition and conference Tire Technology Expo will take place from 20 – 22 February 2018 on the exhibition grounds of Deutsche Messe AG in Hanover, Germany.

Asahi Kasei and GLM Co., Ltd., an electric vehicle manufacturer, have completed a jointly developed concept car called AKXY showcasing a wide array of automotive-related materials and technologies from various Asahi Kasei businesses, focused on contribution to safety, comfort, and the environment.

The Technische Informationssysteme GmbH (T.I.G.) in Rankweil, Austria, is now the sole provider of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) solutions within the Engel group.

The global tyre manufacturers Bridgestone Americas, Continental Tire, Cooper Tire & Rubber, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Hankook Tire, Michelin North America, and independent, third party laboratory Smithers Rapra have formed a testing partnership to introduce a new MTS Flat-Trac CT Plus Tire Test System at the Smithers Tire and Wheel Test Center in Ravenna, OH, USA.