One of the pioneering departments of MIT, Department of Rubber and Plastics Technology, keeping to the tradition, recently organized Elastoplaz 2024 where All India Rubber Industries Association Education Trust supported this technical adventure.
L S Jayakumari, Professor & Head, Department of Rubber & Plastics Technology, MIT, Anna University, shared, "I am happy to note thot the Society of Plastics and Rubber Technologists (SPART) - the Technical Forum, the Faculty, Alumni and Students of the Department of Rubber and Plastics Technology have brought out their annual technical symposium Elastoplaz 2024 on March 16, 2024. This one-day technical event consists mainly on the Technological aspects of Plastics, Rubbers, Composites and various other aspects of Polymer Technology. The scheduled events will provide an opportunity for undergraduate and post graduate students from various institutions to showcase their technical and innate talents, besides providing them an opportunity to learn from each other and interact with their peers. It is heartening to learn that the event has received good response from various institutions and also sponsored by various organizations. I hope that the participants will get technically enriched during this one-day event. I wish Elastoplaz 2024 a grand success.
The Chief Guest of Elastoplaz 2024 from Kobelco - Mr. F Kurose, Chief Technical Officer; Mr. R Ravikumar, Manager Business Development; Mr. Ajesh, KP, Head of Business Development graced the event. They informed that they were overjoyed to associate with the students of MIT campus, Anna University and Department of Rubber and Plastics Technology and the Society of Rubber and Plastics Technologists, SPART, for the Elastoplaz 2024 inauguration and to interact with the young minds. They appreciated all the efforts taken by the students and faculty to conduct such technical and challenging event to widen their knowledge and explore various talents one may possess. Chief Guests encouraged students to keep up their hard work and wished them all the best for this event and for the future.
The Society of Plastics and Rubber Technologists (SPART) is the student body of the Department of Rubber and Plastics Technology. It is dedicated towards the development of the personal and technical skills of students from the department. Their association brings in various platforms to achieve its goal by organizing guest lectures, conferences, industrial visits, smart sessions and other events. The annual technical symposium is their signature event where the aim is to create opportunities for the polymer community from across the country to come together and discuss various advancements, issues and future trends. SPART takes pride in organizing a national level intercollegiate technical symposium, Elastoplaz 2024 which provides the right state for Rubber and Plastics Technologists in India. Elastoplaz 2024 is a vibrant blend of various technical events having non-technical events for personality development. The events are scheduled for one day.
The SPART 2024 inaugural event took place on 13th October 2023. It had inspiring speeches to the remarkable presence of Mr. Selvakumar Thangarasu, General Manager - Technical, CEAT Tires Ltd. It was a day of celebration, connection, and new beginnings.
The Department of Rubber and Plastics Technology recently conducted a highly beneficial mock interview session through SPART Association, led by the dedicated Alumni coordinators of 2013-2024. Dr. Ravichandran Kandaswamy organized this invaluable event and keeping students' welfare in the centre. Mr. Sandeep Moses who took special time out to conduct the Mock interview sessions. The event stayed true to its objective of strengthening the bridge between academia and the industry and help students thrive in the real world.
On Behalf of AIRIA, this year it was represented by AIRIA Southern Region's Regional Secretary Mr. Ravikumar S. Every year AIRIA contributes from their AIRIA Educational Trust to Elastoplaz to show its continued support. Mr. Ravikumar highlighted AIRIA's role to foster cooperation with a view to advance growth and development of the rubber industry with latest innovations focused on advancements in three key areas - sustainability, efficiency, and mobility which in turn lowers costs and reduces environmental footprint. He added that the natural rubber market remains positive and stressed the need for students to stay creative and hungry for knowledge and explore topics of interest to the rubber industry such as membrane separation processes and bioprocessing techniques to achieve zero discharge scenarios etc.
The Regional Secretary had also had a discussion with R Ravikumar, Manager Buisness Development and Ajesh KP Head of business development from Kobelco for becoming members with AIRIA Southern Region.
Mr. Ajesh K.P., Manager Business Development at Kobelco, conducted a technical workshop for polymer and mechanical stream on the topic ‘Discover the Latest Trends in Mixing for the Tire Industry with Kobelco'. The tire industry is moving towards a smart and sustainable future. While tech companies and startups are trying to get an edge over traditional tire companies, it is evident that the niche companies are ready to take them on and claim their share in the domain. Further, it'll be interesting to see how the tire giants will collaborate with the startups and tech industry to lead the industry transformation.
The automotive industry is in a phase of change, acting on all its sub-industries such as the automotive tyre industry. We are witnessing a process in which large companies no longer sell a simple car or basic tyres, but resort to new technologies and digitalization to sell complex services tailored to the needs of consumers. Terms such as connectivity, mobility, autonomy became the main pillars in the development of such solutions integrated in the current market. Based on a SWOT analysis and a focus group organized with specialists from the field, this article aims to highlight the tyre industry market, which are the latest trends in the technologies used for development of the tyre industry, which are the factors that contribute to its growth and which are the threats, the opportunities for the big competitors in the market: Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli.