National Rubber, Toronto, has purchased certain assets of Baker Rubber, South Bend, IN for $5.8 million (Can. $).

National Rubber, Toronto, has purchased certain assets of Baker Rubber, South Bend, IN for $5.8 million (Can. Included in the sale is Baker's crumb rubber production facility in Chamberburg, PA and certain equipment at the South Bend production plant. National Rubber will integrate the production of its new scrap tire recycling plant in Flat Rock, MI with that of the Chambersburg facility under one new entity, NRB Materials Inc. with the head office in South Bend. Manufacture of ground rubber in South Bend will be suspended, but NRB will continue to support the operations of STI Polymers with the supply of ground rubber from Chambersburg and Hat Rock.

Columbian Chemical Co. plans to increase its worldwide carbon black capacity by nearly 25% over the next three years. Expansion and debottlenecking at facilities in North America, Europe and the Far East will increase the company's global production capacity by 180,000 metric tons. Columbian's North African- capacity will increase by 100,000 mt. Expansions are scheduled to come online beginning late this year and continuing through 1998.