Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNK), the world's second largest synthetic rubber manufacturer in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, has begun production of solution polymerized SBR (“SSBR”) of which demand has been rapidly increasing for fuel-efficient tires. The President of Tatarstan attended to the inaugural ceremony held on May 26.

The plant has an annual production capacity of in total 60,000 tons for SSBR as well as thermoplastic elastomer (SBS) used in an application such as asphalt modifiers. The plant will manufacture, among the grades of modified SSBRs, the state-of-the-art and the most advanced 5th generation modified SSBRs under technical assistance from ETIC Inc., for which global tire manufacturers have started quality approval procedures. In addition, considering the volume for self-consumption of SBS, the plant is expected to operate at a high utilization rate right after the start up.

The market for modified SSBRs has grown mainly in developed countries such as Europe where fuel efficiency is important, As the de-carbonization (reduction of greenhouse gas emission) movement has become global, the Chinese and Russian governments have also begun to focus on popularization of energy-saving cars, including electric vehicles. Demand for high-performance modified SSBRs, a raw material for tires suitable for energy-saving cars, is expected to increase sharply in China and Russia as well.