OREANDA-NEWS. March 25, 2011. The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. announced today that its environmental technology had received the "Mortimer T. Harvey Award 2010" from the Cardolite Corporation (USA), a leading company in cashew nutshell liquid products*. The awards ceremony took place at the Hilton Tokyo (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) on Thursday, February 24. In attendance on behalf of Yokohama Rubber were Director and Corporate Officer Kinya Kawakami and the four recipients; President Tony Stonis of Cardolite Corporation presented the award.

Yokohama Rubber received the award for environmental technology that makes use of Cardolite cashew nutshell liquid products. The shells of cashew nuts are ordinarily disposed of as waste, but the cashew nutshell liquid extracted from them can be used as raw materials to rubber compound for bead filler, a reinforcement material employed in the manufacture of tires. This application contributes to the conservation of the environment by using natural materials and more effectively utilizing resources. The rubber compound is more easily formed into tires because it has low levels of rigidity prior to vulcanization. After vulcanization, it achieves high levels of elasticity that improve driving stability. The technology was patented in 1991 in Japan and in 1993 in the United States. The award recognizes Yokohama Rubber’s achievement in developing, patenting and commercializing technology using cashew nutshell liquid products about 20 years ago and in utilizing this technology for the last 20 years to contribute to the preservation of the environment and the development of the cashew nutshell liquid industry.

The "Mortimer T. Harvey Award" was founded in 1998; this time marks the 12th time it has been presented. Its purpose is to encourage the development of cashew nutshell liquid products and technologies by recognizing companies and researchers who have used cashew nutshell liquid to contribute to society.

* Oil extracted from the shells of cashew nuts is used to manufacture a wide range of products, including coatings, paints, rubber and special polymers.