XOVEMBER 1, 1911.1 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



57 



Some Rubber Interests in Europe. 



MEYER COHN, HANOVER. 



A N important firm in northern Germany is that of Meyer 

 ■**■ Cohn, Hanover, operating a combination waste rubber, 

 rubber chemical and reclaiming plant. 



This house was originally an old metal concern, its pres- 

 ent large rubber interests having been developed by Samuel 



Samuel B-\rox. 



Baron, well known in rubber circles in both America and 

 England. 



Meyer Cohn now employs several hundred hands and 

 does an extensive business in his various rubber lines. 



GOLDEN JUBILEE OF HANOVER CONCERN. 



On April 19, 1912 the Hannoversclie Guninii-Kamm Com- 

 pany, A.-G., Hanover, Germany, will celebrate its fiftieth 

 anniversary. The company now has 3,000 employees on its 

 payroll. It is represented in New York City by Julius 

 'Lehman. 



NEW HOME OFFICE BUILDING FOR CONTINENTAL COMPANY. 



The Continental Caoutchouc-und Guttapercha Company, 

 Hanover, Germany, commenced the construction of its new 

 office building on October 1. The new structure will be erected 

 on the site of the present office quarters and is not expected 

 to be ready for occupancy for 18 month;. 



VEREINIGTE GUMMIWAAREN-FABRIKEN HARBURG-WIEN. 



In the report of the Vereinigte Gummiwaaren-Fabriken Har- 

 burg-Wien for the 39th business year, from July 1, 1910, to June 

 30, 1911, reference is made to the depression of prices for manu- 

 factured rubber products, caused by the great fluctuations in 

 crude rubber. Several competing factorfes would seem in the 

 first half of the business year, to have made reductions, to a 

 greater extent than the position of the raw material justified. 



The works both at Harburg and Wimpassing were actively em- 

 ployed during the business year, the output being within about 

 15% of maximum capacity. These conditions are attributed to 

 the quality of the product, as illustrated by the high awards ob- 

 tained at the Brussels Exposition and at the London Rubber Ex- 

 position; the last named being the only one granted for the rub- 

 ber manufactures of all countries. 



With a view to promoting its interests, the "Kautschukgesell- 



schaft Schon & Co." of Harburg. controlled by the Vereinigte 

 Gummiwaaren-Fabriken has secured important jelutong conces- 

 sions in the Dutch Indies. 



During the first months of the new business year a satisfactory 

 increase of trade has been recorded. 



NEW AMERICAN RUBBER RECLAIMING PLANT IN RUSSIA. 



It is rumored that the U. S. Rubber Reclaiming Works con- 

 template erecting a reclaiming plant in St. Petersburg. 



GREAT BRITAIN 



The British West African Association, of which the Right 

 Honorable Earl Cowley is president, with headquarters in London 

 and branches throughout west and equatorial Africa, has paid 

 the editor of The Inw.\ Rubber World the distinguished com- 

 pliment of electing liim an honorary member of the association. 



BRITISH CONCERN SECURES LARGE GOVERNMENT ORDERS. 



The North British Rubber Company, Limited, Castle Mills, 

 Edinburgh, which recently secured the contract for rubber 

 shoes for the British navy, has now obtained a very large 

 order from the government for Ebonite. 



DEATH OF SIR CHARLES LAWES-WITTEWRONGE. 



The death is anounced of Sir Charles Lawes-Wittewronge, 

 proprietor of the Millwall Rubber Company, Harpenden, 

 England. The cremation was attended by representatives 

 of the Society of Chemical Industry, and of other associa- 

 tions of which the deceased had been a member. 



CRUDE RUBBER WASHING CO., LIMITED, LONDON. 



The report of the first year's working expresses regret at the 

 losses incurred, mainly through the extraordinary drop in the 

 value of rubber; a corresponding depreciation having taken 

 place in the value of stocks bought for the purposes of the 

 company's business. Hopes are expressed that a part of the 

 loss will be recouped by subsequent operations, when the 

 company's products would have been introduced to the differ- 

 ent markets of the world, and when the prejudice had been 

 overcome that the quality of the rubber was adversely affected 

 by its treatment. 



NEW FRENCH SYNTHETIC RUBBER COMPANY. 



According to reports from Palis a company has recently been 

 formed in that city, with a capital equaling $500,000, for the pro- 

 duction of synthetic rubber by the Reynaud process. This proc- 

 ess, it is understood, is based on the employment of turpentine, 

 the relatively high price of which has so far proved a difficulty, 

 but the hope is expressed that this obstacle will soon be over- 

 come. 



The process in question consists broadly in subjecting turpen- 

 tine or similar oil to the fractionated action of sulphuric acid, 

 the material thus obtained being then treated by boiling hydro- 

 chloric acid. In order to obtain a complete and perfectly uniform 

 transformation of the entire mass of turpentine oil, the latter is 

 first of all divided by immersing therein an absorbent material, 

 such as unvulvanized rubber. 



Under the fractionated and progressive action of the sulphuric 

 acid the turpentine oil is by the Reynaud process transformed 

 into a pasty and slightly sticky, elastic material. This material 

 is then thoroughly washed in water, so as to eliminate the excess 

 of sulphuric acid. It can at this stage be industrially utilized, 

 but is preferably treated with hydrochloric acid, being immersed 

 for some hours in a boiling bath of that acid in concentrated 

 form. Finally the acid is caused to boil for some hours after 

 having been diluted with water. In this manner a firm, sinewy 

 product is obtained, which, after washing, it is claimed, presents 

 all the physical and chemical properties of natural rubber. 



