XILLIX a New Member of the German Rubber Manufacturers Association

XILLIX became a member of the German Rubber Manufacturers Association (wdk) at the start of 2022. The association is the leading organization of German manufacturers of tires and technical elastomers. Its brief is to advise member companies and help influence planned EU directives and national requirements. Membership enables XILLIX to make use of comprehensive and important information from the industry for its marketing and sales activities.

The association helps around 120 member companies expand their role as technology leaders

“Our membership not only allows our target customers to see us as a forward-looking partner, but also provides us with extensive information from the industry,” says Friedrich von Ploetz, Managing Director of XILLIX. As it intends to market sustainable, functional filler materials for rubber applications in the future, XILLIX benefits greatly from this membership. XILLIX is working with its development partner for bio-based high-performance materials, Brandenburg-based SunCoal Industries, to market its first product line, REFORCE. REFORCE is a new sustainable filler for rubber applications, which is intended as an alternative to carbon black.

Price explosions and supply shortfalls are highlighting the need for regional and sustainable raw materials

The cessation of high volumes of imports of carbon black from Russia and Ukraine has triggered a serious supply crisis in the rubber industry, with corresponding leaps in price. This has increased the need for environmentally and economically sustainable products produced in the EU and made from domestic, renewable raw materials. To this end, XILLIX is also pushing for a structural change in the way the rubber industry is supplied.