NATURAL RUBBER

The Rubber Foundation: established sixty years ago. In the first twenty years of its existence known all over the world. Then slowly disappearing from the limelight.
Fortunately surviving in the early seventies, searching for new goals, getting a new reason for its existence in the course of the eigthies by supporting rubber research in Indonesia and finally starting an Information Center for Natural Rubber in Delft, the Netherlands, as from 1995. This revival of our foundation, particularly over the past ten years, gives reason to celebrate sixty years of existence.

So as not to take the risk of the "Rubber Foundation" only being known for its present day activities, I would like to explain why the foundation was established and what the vari-ous boards of the foundation made of it. It all had to do with the natural rubber production in the Netherlands Indies, nowadays Indonesia.

As from 1922 the Netherlands regulated all activities concerning rubber through the "International Association for the Rubber Cultivation in the Netherlands Indies" (IVR), with its headquarters in Amsterdam. Due to the world economic disas-ter in 1929, the rubber producing countries had to regulate their productions in view of the diminishing consumption and low prices. In 1934 the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Siam (presently known as Thailand) and the British Indies, covering 97% of the world rubber production, signed the "International Rubber Regulation Agreement". Research on rubber and promotion of the use of rubber were needed. Funds were raised by levies on exported rubber and the "International Rubber Research Board" was established to coordinate joint activities. The mentioned IVR was already equipped with departments for research and technical-commercial activities in Delft, at the premises of the Government Rubber Institute, headed by Dr Ir A. van Rossem. The need was felt to create a separate foundation for those activities. Thus the Rubber Foundation was established on the thirty first of October 1936. The chairman of the IVR, Jhr Mr W.J. de Jonge, became chairman of the Rubber Foundation as well. He gave his energy to this function for thirty two years, up to 1968. As from January 1939 Dr Ir R. Houwink became Director-General of the labo-ratories.
Up until World War II the Rubber Foundation developed rapidly. Research results were published in the journal "Rubber", the "Mededelingen van de Rubber-Stichting" and other technical journals, and numerous lectures and courses contributed to the promotion of the use of natural rubber.
As from 1949 the promotional activities were extended throughout Europe. Offices were established in Brussels, Zürich, Stockholm, Frankfurt am Main and Bregenz. New laboratories were built at the Oostsingel in Delft, and inaugurated by the High Commissioner of the Republic of Indonesia on 19 October 1951.

Important topics in research at that time were the processing and application of foam and rubber/tarmac-mixtures. With respect to the latter road-building experiments were started in the Netherlands and followed by similar experiments in Belgium, Denmark, Indonesia, Finland, Austria, West-Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.
Furthermore new developments of the use of rubber in agriculture and industries were promoted through training activities.

Much time was spent in building exhibits at fairs in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. As some of you still may remember there even was an "exhibition on wheels", with lots of material for demonstrations.

Logically World War II made contacts with Indonesia impos-sible, but fortunately the fund raising through levies on exported rubber continued after the liberation of Indonesia from the Japanese occupation. Research in Indonesia was continued under the name "Indonesian Institute for Rubber Research" (INIRO) , nowadays known as the Research Institute for Estate Crops in Bogor. As from 1945 Bogor and Delft worked in close cooperation. Many Indonesian trainees visited the Rubber Foundation laboratories in Delft.

At the top of the activities in Delft, when 226 staff-members were at work for the Rubber Foundation, the Indonesian government decided that as per July 1956 all remittances would be stopped, which made it impossible to continue activities. TNO, the well-known Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research and cofounder of the Rubber Foundation, saved whatever was possible in its own rubber research branch.

A reshuffle of the board took place. TNO and the Royal Tropical Institute each got two seats, the other four seats remained unchanged at R.C.M.A., Crone, Deli Universal and HVA (Handels Vereeniging Amsterdam).
Due to the excellent chairmanship of Ir A.L.W. Seyffardt during three years, the Rubber Foundation survived all claims on its capital, sold its buildings in Delft and Amsterdam and could start with new activities. But how? The last of the staff-members had left the organization and all that remained was a foundation with no more possibilities than to offer subsidies. Still the main goal was kept, i.e. the promotion of the use of natural rubber.

During seventeen years as from 1971, Mr H. von Saher, director of H.G.Th. Crone at Amsterdam, was the third chairman of the foundation and, supported by the other board members, searched for possibilities to keep the Rubber Foundation going. The first ten years the possibilities were very limited. Finally, in the course of the eighties, contacts with the rubber section of the research station for estate crops in Bogor resulted in an agreement for research and training support for three years with the possibility of additional funding.

Thus we reached the fifty years jubilee in 1986. We came together in the small auditorium of the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam with many of the former staff-members of the foundation present. Special guests were the former director-general, Dr Houwink and the former chairman Ir Seyffardt.
Mr Von Saher, in his opening speech, remarked that the rubber producers still did not have a strong organization to defend their interests. After fifty years there was still scope for a rubber foundation with exactly the same goal: to promote the use of natural rubber. If there would be any doubt of our reason of existence, continuation for the time being seemed justified.
Assistance in rubber research in Indonesia was much needed.

Guest-speakers were asked to give their opinion about a future outlook. Prof Dr Ir Struik in particular stipulated the short term problems in improving the quality and consistency of NR, the introduction of specifications in view of the use of NR, and the enlarged possibilities of chemical modifications. For the long term situation, up to fifty years, he advised a more profound production-efficiency in the production countries, so that NR would keep up its unique qualities versus synthetic rubber.

Mr Niehorster explained the lack of reality in forecasts on the use of NR. Economy always had a great influence on the ups and downs of rubber. But negative effects were usually soon over and new heights were reached. Mr Niehorster predicted an impressive future for NR and an important role for the Rubber Foundation in Indonesia, if this country would make sufficient efforts for its rubber development.

As from 1985 the board of the Rubber Foundation enjoyed the results obtained from its funding of the research activities at the rubber research station in Bogor. Thanks to the highly appreciated work of Ing W.J. Aben and co-workers of TNO through visits, training and advices, results of the Rubber Foundation collaboration were very satisfying. Up until 1991 the foundation provided the Bogor research and training program for one and a quarter million Dutch guilders.
In the meantime support was also extended to the rubber research station for estate crops at Sungei Putih, near Medan, North Sumatra and to the rubber research station for small-holders, Sembawa, near Palembang, South Sumatra.

In 1991 suddenly the collaboration came to a halt. Indonesia did not want to receive official development funds anymore. All projects finished abruptly. Although the Rubber Foundation used only its own capital, Indonesia stopped all contacts.

After a few years it was clear that the old way of collaborating with Indonesia would not come back anymore. But something else happened. Interest in the Netherlands regarding the use of NR grew and raised requests for certain applications. The idea came up to revive the old promotion activity of the foundation.

In November 1992 Ing W.J. Aben of TNO, nowadays member of the board, and Ir S. de Meij, formerly staff-member at the Rubber Foundation laboratories and Vredestein and already for many years board member appointed by the board of TNO, presented their proposal "Continuation of the Activities of the Rubber Foundation for the Improvement of the Use of Natural Rubber".

The two experts visited a number of companies to make an inventory of the need for answers to questions about NR. They came to interesting conclusions.

Obvious was the discrepancy between the information about SR and NR. For SR every technologist knows were to find the specialist of the producer. For NR the only source of information is the rubbertrader. The producer of NR is too far away, and there are too many steps in between. Accompanying test-certificates usually donít help very much, as they only describe the rubber as it is on leaving the country of origin. No doubt you are familiar with this problem. This, together with the inherent lack of consistency of a product of nature may cause problems with, for instance, process automation.

Whereas SR-producers usually find enough technical support and information, the NR-producers lack a source of information in the Netherlands. In fact there is only one widely known specialist, Dr Resing. We know how often he is consulted.

Another serious problem, not only for natural rubber, is the disappearing knowledge when employees retire. To find new staff-members with sufficient knowledge of natural rubber and latex is very difficult, particularly for senior functions. We are most glad that the SORK takes care of such training and that we may welcome the recent graduates of the rubber courses in our midst.

To come back to the starting point, the above mentioned pro-blems were a sufficient reason for the interviewed manufactu-rers to react positively to the idea of an information center for NR. Mr Aben and Mr de Meij expected that such a center could revive part of the old activities of the Rubber Foundation, i.e. supply information both from present day information available at TNO and knowledge still available at the Rubber Foundation archives. If requested, the former foundation activity of NR-courses also might be restarted.

It still took another three years before all details were worked out to establish the "Rubber Foundation Information Center for Natural Rubber" on the premises of TNO, headed by Mr J. van der Heijden, with the assistance of Ing J. Havinga and Mr B. van Baarle LPRI as consultants. Mr Aben and Mr de Meij are both valuable advisors to the information center.

The center began its activites on the first of August 1995 and will operate as an experiment for two years. The journal of the center, called "Natural rubber", attracts much attention. As from edition Nr 5, the journal will be published entirely in the English language.

The first year was considered positive by the board of the Rubber Foundation. Early next year the board will decide about the future of the center.

It is obvious that the Rubber Foundation considers the past ten years as a revival of its true activities. Presently the board consists of members from TNO, Crone, Deli Universal and RCMA. The members of the board are very satisfied with the present day results.