MICHELIN, CONTINENTAL AND SMAG PARTNER TO DEVELOP RUBBERWAY(R), THE SMARTPHONE APPLICATION DESIGNED TO MAP SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES ACROSS THE NATURAL RUBBER INDUSTRY
Rubberway(R) is designed in compliance with the objectives of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR).
The joint venture is due to begin business before the end of 2019 (subject to validation by the relevant antitrust authorities).
Rubberway(R) is a technological solution that maps and assesses practices and risks regarding environmental issues, social affairs, and Corporate Social Responsibility governance throughout the natural-rubber industry, from rubber-processing plants downstream to plantations upstream. Rubberway(R) will provide its users (tire manufactures) with the collected data and enable them to identify and improve sustainability in the natural rubber chain. .
Indeed, the natural-rubber supply chain—which includes around six million farmers, 100,000 intermediaries and over 500 processing plants—is highly complex.
The technological solution Rubberway(R)—produced in collaboration with the software developer Smag—has been operational since 2017 and is already used in some main production countries (including Thailand, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and Brazil).
In this joint venture, Michelin is bringing the rights of use and exploitation, as well as its user experience of it on the ground.
Continental demonstrates its interest in this solution through its investment in the joint venture and, in doing so, is opening up the path to wider use of the application by other tire-makers and car-parts manufacturers, therefore helping accelerate the rise of responsible practices in the natural-rubber industry.
Smag is sharing all its technological and sector-specific expertise in digital solutions for agriculture.
Through this joint venture, the partners are seeking to make Rubberway(R) an independent solution that can be easily used by all the other natural rubber players and working towards making the supply chain more transparent.
About Michelin
Michelin, the leading mobility company, is dedicated to enhancing its clients' mobility, sustainably; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its clients' needs; providing digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve a variety of industries. Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in 170 countries, has more than 125,000 employees and operates 67 tire production facilities which together produced around 190 million tires in 2018. (www.michelin.com)
About Continental
Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2018, Continental generated sales of EUR44.4 billion and currently employs more than 244,000 people in 60 countries and markets. (www.continental-corporation.com)
About Smag
A subsidiary of Bioline by InVivo and a pioneer in web technology for agriculture since 2001, Smag develops internet-based solutions and smartphone applications in the traceability of agricultural production and the optimization of agricultural practices (management of crop rotation, regulatory controls, running of farms, coordination of agricultural advice, economic reporting, and more). Sold to farmers through distribution networks in agriculture (cooperatives and trading companies), these digital tools help record, centralize and analyze a considerable number of various kinds of data in agricultural campaigns (yield/production, cultivation schedules, types and quantities of input, mapping, geolocationfor plots of land, traceability, management of interventions and recommendations, weather, internet-connected objects, and more). Providing valuable support in decision-making, these digital tools have now become vital in making it easier to take decisions, in respecting regulatory compliance in agriculture, in predicting yields, and especially in protecting the environment and consumers' interests. Smag employs 160 people and its solutions are used in twenty-five countries. Find out more at: www.smag.tech
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