Titan International Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union together have asked the U.S. government to impose duties on off-the-road tires -- industrial, implement, farm/forestry, skid-steers, etc. -- imported from China.

Myers Industries Inc. shareholders will convene July 23 at the company´s Akron headquarters to vote on Goldman, Sachs & Co.´s proposal to purchase the plastics and rubber products manufacturer for USD1.07 billion, or USD22.50 per share.

KITCHENER, Ontario - A demonstration by the United Steelworkers on May 23 aimed to coincide with Michelin’s planned auction of tire machinery from the former B.F. Goodrich plant in Kitchener.

The RAG subsidiary Degussa announced the formal opening of its new isophorone production line in Herne, Germany.

HOUSTON - ExxonMobil Chemical Co. said it will begin construction of a plant in Pensacola, Fla., to produce a dynamically vulcanized alloy of its Exxpro specialty elastomer and nylon, for use as tire inner liners.

Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. is boosting prices for its passenger and light truck tires by as much as 7 percent as of Aug. 1, depending on the model.

Cooper-Standard has signed an agreement to purchase a group of rubber sealing operations from Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems, a deal valued at about USD130 million.

Source: Ontario Farmer, June 19, 2007: Michelin’s new Ultraflex technology, built into Axiobib tires, represents a marked change in how agriculture tires are designed and the company hopes that it means less compaction especially for the larger horsepower tractors which are now rumbling over crop fields.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Albemarle Corp. said it will boost the production of its Martinal-brand fine precipitated aluminum trihydrate flame retardants at a plant in Germany to meet growing global demand by the wire and cable field.

AKRON - Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire recently told its 2,200 retail stores to stop selling used tires, while the Rubber Manufacturers Association for the first time sent a service bulletin warning that "used passenger and light truck tires that have an uncertain or unknown history pose a potential risk."