According to the company’s LinkedIn posting, the Russian market is currently facing a shortage of halobutyl rubber. SIBUR’s Nizhnekamskneftekhim, one of Russia’s leading rubber producers, is looking to meet the shortfall by boosting production of this material by 25%.
To do this, the enterprise is currently building a new facility, dubbed GBK-200. Project design works ended in early March, and construction and installation are now drawing to a close. Nizhnekamskneftekhim launched halobutyl rubber production back in March 2004 and has consistently stepped up capacity ever since. Once the new facility comes online, we expect to produce up to 200 ktpa of this material – twice as much as we made in 2012.
Halobutyl rubber has historically been used as a sealing inner liner in tubeless tyres because it is strong, durable, eco-friendly, less permeable to gas, and retains pressure better. On top of this, it has a low rolling resistance, translating to better fuel efficiency.
All in all, SIBUR’s enterprises produce eight types of synthetic rubber, all of which come in several grades. They are used to make high-quality summer and winter tyres that are sought after in Russia and abroad.
