vU 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 



ITALY'S RUBBER INDUSTRY. 



By H. C. MacLcan, in "Commerce Reports." 



ITALY has built up a flourishing industry in the manufacture ot 

 rubber goods, although the number of firms engaged in this 

 line of activity is not large. The first steps toward the estab- 

 lishment of this industry were taken in 1872 by G. B. Pirelli, " 

 and the progress made is very creditable, considering the tech- 

 nical character of the industry and Italy's deficiencies in the 

 matter of coal, gasoline, etc. There are at present in Italy 13 

 firms engaged in the production of rubber goods and insulated 

 electric wire and cables, which give employment to about 20,000 

 persons. During the past year these firms organized the Asso- 

 cia^ione fra gli Industriali della Comma, Conduttori Eletlrici, ed 

 Afhtii, believing that they had certain interests in common which 

 such an association could promote. 



LARGE INCREASE IN IMPORTS OF CRUDE RUBBER. 



The statistics covering Italian imports of crude rubber for 

 the past 10 years show the extent to which the rubber industry 

 has developed. The war created an exceptional demand for 

 rubber goods. The consumption of crude rubber in 1918 was 

 approximately five times as great as in 1909 and more than 

 double that of 1914, the year the war broke out. 



Crude-rubber imports for the years 1909-1918, inclusive, were 

 as follows (one lire = $0,193) : 



Value, 



Lire. Years. 



1,567 2C,376,00O 1914 



1,878 31.960,000 1915 



2,419 30,249.000 1916 



3,494 38,438.000 1917 



2,844 25.599,000 1918 



\'alue. 

 Lire. 



21,378,000 

 42.938,000 

 47,878.000 

 67.399,000 

 7.545 83,000.000 



3,054 

 5.367 

 5,320 



1912 



1913 .... 

 PRINCIPAL ITALIAN RUBBER GOODS MANUFACTURING COMPANY. 



Italy manufactures rubber goods of practically every variety, 

 including tires, mechanical rubber goods, hard-rubber goods, 

 druggists' sundries and other specialties, rubberized textiles, and 



Works of Pirelli & Co., Mila 



Ital' 



of the war a considerable reduction took place. On the other 

 band, exports steadily increased until, in 1915, they were about 

 two and a half times greater than the imports. After Italy's 

 entrance into the war in that year the domestic demand was 

 such that exports were greatly reduced, in spite of the large in- 

 crease in production. As conditions become normal again there 

 is reason to expect that exports will again increase, especially 

 in the case of pneumatic tires, as this Italian product has won 

 considerable popularity abroad. Statistics covering Italy's total 

 imports and exports of rubber goods for the period 1909-1918 

 follow : 



insulated wire and cables. The firm of Pirelli & Co., whose 

 head office is in Milan, is by far the largest manufacturer in 

 this line. This company has a capital of 40,000,000 lire, and, in 

 addition to its three plants in Italy, has also additional plants 

 in Spain, England, and Argentina. During the year 1917 its 

 Italian production was valued at 165.000,000 lire, which was an 

 increase of about 80 per cent over that of the preceding year. 

 While making a wide variety of articles, the most important 

 products of the Pirelli company are pneumatic and solid tires 

 and electric wire and cables, in which a considerable foreign 

 business has been built up. Its foreign establishments are en- 

 gaged principally in the manufacture of electrical conductors, 

 including submarine cables, in which line this firm has been able 

 to compete successfully with the large manufacturers of other 

 nations. In addition to Pirelli & Co., other establishments of 

 considerable importance are working along similar lines. 



WAR-TIME DECLINE IN EXPORTS OF RUBBER GOODS. 



Italy's imports of rubber goods have remained inore or less 

 stationary for a number of years, although during the last years 







IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF RUBBER GOODS FOR FIRST 

 SIX MONTHS OF 1919. 



From the figures for the first six months of 1919 an idea can 

 be gained of the character of the rubber and rubber goods im- 

 ported and exported by Italy. Unfortunately, the largest in- 

 crease in imports is shown in the case of "other rubber prod- 

 ucts not specified," and there is no means of ascertaining what 

 commodities are included under that head. On the side of ex- 

 ports, the most important itein is pneumatic tires, where the 

 1919 figures are more than double those of the previous year, 

 and exceed imports by about 4,000,000 lire. Statistics covering 

 insulated wire are not available. The detailed figures of imports 

 and exports of rubber and rubber goods for the first six months 

 of 1919 are given below : 



Imports. 





Rubber and gutta percha, crude a; 



reclaimed to 



.Scrap 



Rubber and gutta percha in: 



Threads 



Sheets 



Tubes 



Belting 



Rubberized textiles in the piece.. 



Rubber shoes 



;:iastic webbing 



Garments and traveling equipment, 



Manufactures of rubber: 



Rubber sheets to 



Rubberized textiles 



Rubber goods not specified 



944 1,545,12 



228 3.536.000 

 331 7.663.200 

 870 11.866.500 



CHICLE IMPORTS FOR 1919. 



The import trade in chicle increased greatly in quantity as 

 well as value in the first year of peace, according to Commerce 

 Reports. Mexico, the chief source, shows a gain in quantity of 

 1,891,307 pounds in 1919 over 1918 and in value of $1,791,107, 

 while the other chicle countries show smaller gains. The average 

 value per pound rose from 37 cents in 1914 to 65.8 cents in 

 1919, about 78 per cent in six years. The increase from the 52.6 

 cents per pound of 1918 was 25 per cent. The average import 

 prices paid per pound in 1919, by countries, were: Canada $1.24, 

 British Honduras $0,675, Mexico $0.74, Colombia $0,321, and 

 Venezuela $0,285. 



SUBSTITUTE FOR CHICLE. 



The latex of the Galaclodcndron utile, a tree of Colombia, was 

 examined by M. T. Dawe, of the London Imperial Institute, who 

 found, after drying it, that it contained 90.8 per cent resin, 3.1 

 per cent impurities and 6.1 per cent gutta. The last was very 

 soft and plastic. The substance is too friable and resinous to be 

 used as balata or gutta percha are, but it strongly resembles 

 pontianak. The latex differs from chicle because it contains 

 more resin and less gutta, but it could easily be used for chewing 

 gum, as it is pale in color, is free from bark and mineral matter, 

 and becomes more plastic when it is chewed. 



