302 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June i, 1910. 



THE NEW MALAYSIAN RUBBER. 



THE United Malaysian Rubber Co., Limited, registered in 

 London April 26, 1910, with a stated capital of £2,000,000 

 [=$9.733.ooo] in £l shares, has been formed principally for the 

 purpose of acquiring the stock of the Malaysian Rubber Co., 

 incorporated under the laws of New Jersey (United States), 

 June 18, 1909. The Malaysian Rubber Co. owns a process for 

 the treatment of gutta-jelutong (Pontianak gum), with a view 

 to producing a high grade rubber, by means of (1) a new 

 method of coagulation of the latex, and (2) the refining of the 

 crude product by a new process which involves the extraction of 

 merchantable resin and all surplus water. The Malaysian com- 

 pany have established a factory at Goebilt, in the British pro- 

 tectorate of Sarawak, in the western part of Borneo, where the' 

 new processes are being operated on a large commercial scale. 

 TSee The India Rubber World, February 1, 191c* — page 162.] 



Through holding shares of the British Malaysian Manufactur- 

 ing Co., Limited, the American concern controls a valuable con- 

 cession in Sarawak, where the jelutong tree (Dyera coslulata) 

 grows abundantly. Negotiations are on foot for obtaining sim- 

 ilar concessions in other territories where the tree is found, 

 including a grant for exclusive rights to tap jelutong trees over 

 a large area in the Federated Malay States. 



The production of jelutong in Sarawak, which is only one of 

 the company's sources of supply, is stated in the prospectus of 

 the new company to have been as follows : 



Year. Tons. Year. Tons. Year. Tons. 



1902 3,356 1905 5,157 1908 2,380 



1903 4,926 1006 3,832 1909 9,027 



1004 4,657 1907 5,537 



[Note.- — 1907-08 was the period of the American financial crisis.] 



Reference is made in the prospectus of the new company to 

 the large demand in the United States for Pontianak gum under 

 conditions previously existing, and the view is taken that under 

 changed conditions whereby the gum can be refined in the 

 country of production, instead of being left to be carried out in 

 this country, there will be a largely increased demand. It is 

 stated that the average cost of jelutong at Sarawak for the past 

 eight years has been less than 5 Straits dollars per picul, which 

 would figure out, say, 2% cents, gold, per pound. This low 

 cost will explain the small market rate for the material in the 

 United States. However, in consequence of the advanced prices 

 of fine rubber, the cost of jelutong is now higher. London 

 brokers are quoted in the prospectus of the new company as 

 quoting the price of 7s. [= $1.70.2] or more per pound as reason- 

 able for refined Pontianak under the new process. The present 

 plant at Goebilt is referred to as having a capacity of about 

 T,5oo tons of finished rubber per year and about 4,500 tons of 

 resin. Plans are under way for a large increase in the capacity 

 of the factory. 



The directors of the United Malaysian Rubber Co., Limited, 

 are as follows, the board including three Americans, who hold a 

 similar relation to the Malaysian Rubber Co. : 



Sir Percy Francis Cunynghame, Bart, (formerly Resident of the Pro- 

 tectorate of Sarawak). Badgeworth, near Cheltenham, Chairman. 

 Cornelius Vanderbilt ("Director Illinois Central Railroad Co., &c). No. 30 



Pine street, New York. 

 Robert Goelet (Director Southern Pacific Co.. &-c). No. 9 West Seven- 

 teenth street. New York. 

 Henry Maitland Kersey, d.s.o. (Director Forestal Land, Timber and Rail- 

 ways Co.), Limited), 8 Crosby square. E. C, London. 

 Marquis de Charnace, 35, bis. Rue id'Anjou, Paris. 



Matthew G. Hale (of Hale & Son, Produce Brokers), 10 Fenchurch ave- 

 nue, E. C, London. 

 John L. Elliot (Director Mexican Coal and Coke Co., &c.), No. 71 Broad- 

 way, New York. 



The secretary and registered office (pro tent) are H. H. F. 

 Stockley, 22, Fenchurch street, E. C, London. The recent offer 

 of stock was for £400,000. of which £300,000 in shares had been 

 applied for by the directors and their friends. 



The prospectus states further : "The capital stock of the 

 Malaysian company is $4,000,000, equivalent to about £824,000. 

 The market value of such stock, based on sales of stocks effected 

 during the last few months in New York, was over £1,647,000." 

 The terms of the transfer to the new company are not mentioned. 



The imports of gutta-jelutong into the United States since 

 July 1, 1902, have been stated as follows in the customs returns: 



Year. Pounds. Values. 



1902 6,901,362 $164,459 



1903 14.994.437 390,137 



1904 14,867,007 479,891 



1905 25,369,473 890,842 



1906 18,164,293 622,600 



1907 33,679.951 1,468,080 



1008 16,663,605 550,569 



1909 36,817,920 1,420,220 



Not much is to be found in print regarding the tree producing 

 jelutong. The gum, however, is regarded generally to be the 

 product of Dyera costulata (Hook., fil.). Jelutong is one of the 

 names applied to this gum in Borneo, or, as spelled in the Dutch, 

 "getah-djeloetoeng." Some authorities mention more than one 

 species, and botanists are not agreed as to the proper designa- 

 tion. For instance, Dyera laxMora is mentioned, and also Al- 

 stonia costulata. At any rate the trees are abundant in Borneo 

 and throughout the Malay peninsula, and the territory with 

 which the new company are concerning themselves aggregates 

 30,000,000 acres, though the tree is referred to as not being 

 abundant throughout this area. A report in the Agricultural 

 Bulletin of the Malay Peninsula, No. 9 (May, 1900 — page 249), 

 says: 



"The jelutong tree abounds in all parts in a very liquid white 

 latex containing a good deal of caoutchouc. The latex pressed 

 between the finger and thumb draws out into fine and fairly 

 firm threads as do the better class rubbers. Allowed to dry in 

 the ordinary manner it becomes hard and brittle, but for sale it 

 is usually coagulated with the aid of kerosene, forming a mealy 

 rubber of a white color, and of but little value. I am informed 

 that it is chiefly used for making moldings of picture frames, 

 and for adulterating other local rubbers." 



Mr. Pearson wrote in his "What I Saw in the Tropics" 

 (page 72) : 



"Next after the Hevea I wanted most to examine the tree 

 that produces the gutta-jelutong, or Pontianak gum. I found 

 that it was very common all through the Federated Malay States, 

 and that the gum was rarely taken from it, the tree being re- 

 garded as useful only for the cheap clogs that the natives wear. 

 The tree is botanically the Dyera costulata. and when mature is 

 a splendid forest creation. One in the gardens [Singapore], of 

 which I have a photograph, was certainly 150 feet high, with a 

 huge three part trunk, and a magnificent crown of leaves. We 

 did not tap this one, but went into the jungle, found a wild one, 

 and tapped it after the most approved method. The latex oozed 

 out like clotted cream and seemed most abundant, but began to 

 coagulate almost at once. It is said that a mature tree produces 

 as much as 100 pounds, by scraping the bark rather than tapping, 

 and mixing at once with kerosene." 



There is to be held in Detroit, Michigan, this summer, an in- 

 dustrial exposition, under the auspices of the Board of Commerce 

 of that city, beginning on June 20 and remaining open three 

 weeks. As was the case with the important industrial exposition 

 last year at Cleveland, Ohio, the Detroit exposition will be 

 devoted solely to local interests. The announced purposes are: 

 "To teach Detroit to know itself; to teach the world to know 

 Detroit." Detroit today ranks first in the item of automobile 

 manufacturing, and is the seat of an important rubber industry, 

 so that it is likely that rubber will have considerable prominence 

 in the coming exposition. 



