Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. has agreed to divest major portions of its chemical industrial products business unit to fellow Japanese companies Nitta Corp. and Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd. for undisclosed sums.
Among the businesses being divested are components for railway cars, industrial rubber products, hoses, waterproof materials, rigid polyurethane products, etc.
Toyo stressed that the seismic isolation rubber business — which was involved in a series of fraudulent business transactions over the past several years that resulted in tens of millions of dollars in losses for Toyo — is not part of the sale.
Neither Toyo nor Nitta disclosed financial details of the deals, which involve the creation of a new stock companies involving Toyo Chemical & Industrial Products Co. Ltd. and Soflan Wiz Co. Ltd., Toyo subsidiaries.
The Nitta deal involves six factories — three in Japan, two in China and one in Thailand.
Toyo did not disclose the scale of sales the businesses being divested represent.
Toyo said the divestitures are related to a business review process started earlier this year. Toyo said it evaluated and reassessed each business from various perspectives, including market growth potential and business continuity, and determined the best course of action to enhance the value of each business.
That led to Toyo’s concluding it would be best for the businesses now targeted for divestment to “pursue future opportunities under the ownership of a well-established company that possesses profound knowledge of a similar business segment, and has the necessary infrastructure to promote the business.”
By Bruce Davis
Source: Tire Business
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
