Yokohama, Continental form joint venture company. (Contracts, Licenses).

Yokohama Rubber, Tokyo, Japan, and Continental AG, Hanover, Germany, have signed a formal contract to set up a joint venture company to meet the needs for original equipment tires for Japanese automakers and a contract to cooperate in expanding Continental's replacement tire sales in Japan. The two companies also signed a contract for exchanging tire technology. Yokohama Rubber and Continental will establish a 50:50 joint venture with a total paid-up capital of 100 million yen by the end of the month in Tokyo. The new company, named Yokohama Continental Tire, will promote tire businesses by marketing original equipment tires for passenger cars, light trucks and trucks/buses to Japanese automakers and their overseas transplants, as well as to Korean automakers. In April, Yokohama Rubber will become the exclusive importer/distributor of Continental tires in Japan and start distributing Continental brand and other main tire brands of Continental for passenger cars, as well as for industrial vehicles, through Yokohama's nationwide sales network for replacement tires.

An alliance formed by two manufacturers of specialty thermoplastic compounds will provide processors in European Union countries with a local supply of high-performance Uniprene thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomers and improved access to sales and technical service. Under the agreement, PTS Plastic Technologic Service GmbH will employ technology developed in the U.S. by Teknor Apex, Pawtucket, RI, to produce the TPV compounds and market then in the EU under the Teknor Apex tradename Uniprene. PTS is based in Adelshofen-Tauberzell, Germany.

Harwick Standard Distribution, Akron, OH, has expanded its relationship with principal partner Cabot, Boston, MA, by becoming the exclusive distributor of Cabot's carbon blacks nationwide in the industrial rubber product manufacturing industry.

A-Z Formen- und Maschinenbau GmbH/A-Z Americas LLC, Munich, Germany/Akron, OH, and Crotech AG of Basel, Switzerland, announced a partnership. A-Z bought the exclusive rights to market and manufacture Crotech AG's range of Combex extruder/gearpump systems.

GEO Specialty Chemicals, Peroxy Chemicals Group, announced it will now sell and market its Echo vulcanizing agent product line in the U.S. directly, rather than through a distributor channel.

BMH Chronos Richardson has continued its partnership with Cheng Shin-Toyo Tire and Rubber (China) by securing a further contract for the Kunshan City tire plant in Jiangsu Province, China. Valued in excess of 800,000 [pounds sterling], the contract covers turnkey supply of four different project phases, including weighing and feeding of carbon black and white fillers, polymers and oils for a masterbatch compounding line; polymers weighing and small chemical check weighing on a final mix compounding line; fully automatic small chemical batch weighing and automatic bag placing system; and a CR 3000 control system will control and monitor the plant. BMH Chronos Richardson will be supplying specifically designed equipment which will operate to stringent plant performance parameters defined by Cheng Shin engineers.

DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise announced that F. Bacon Industriel will be its sole distributor in Canada for its TraSys line of rubber and rotational molding products.

Sartomer, Exton, PA, has added Brenntag, Butler, WI and Kennesaw, GA, to its distribution network. Brenntag will distribute Sartomer's entire monomer, oligomer and photoinitiator product lines to several regions of the U.S., including the mid-south, southeast and Great Lakes regions.