Rubber products
Rubber, a raw material used in many domestic and medical objects:
Origin | Annual global consumption | Products |
Natural rubber | Extracted from the rubber bark | 48% of annual global consumption | Tires, manufactured articles, elastic thread, carpets, surgical protection products, condoms, glue… |
Synthetic rubber | Derived from natural gas and petroleum by-products | 52% of annual global consumption | Tires, manufactured articles, elastic thread, carpets, surgical protection products, condoms… |
Some of the products derived from natural rubber include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Automobile tires are made up of 15-20% natural rubber,
- Aircraft tires are made out of 100% natural rubber,
- Airbags,
- Gym flooring,
- Commercial kitchen flooring,
- Clothing: In its fibrous form, natural rubber forms elastic which is used to produce tight-fitting and expandable clothing such as wetsuits and cycling shorts,
- Natural rubber gaskets,
- Erasers,
- Adhesives and coatings,
- Rubber gloves and condoms,
- Flotation,
- Baby bottle nipples…
In 2023, Okomu’s plantations produced 9 907 T of dry rubber equivalent. The 2.5 T/h rubber factory processes rubber cup lumps from the Company’s rubber plantations, generating vital foreign exchange for Nigeria as all the Company’s rubber is exported annually. The Company usually produces TSNR 10 type products, and the rubber is marketed under the highly sought after NOKO10 label and sold worldwide to internationally renowned companies such as Michelin, Goodyear, and the like.
Okomu also works closely with third-party stakeholders, who sell their cup lumps to the company through agents. Purchase prices on wet rubber are based on the global market prices and are reviewed weekly by the Company and distributed to the local buyers via text message.
Natural rubber is a renewable raw material with many advantages and a significant carbon sink as well. Through the SOCFIN Group, Okomu is a member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) and actively participates in the development of standards for the sector.