BUSINESS ABROAD: Rubber for Italy

Enrico Mattei, handsome boss of Italy's big Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi state oil and gas monopoly (TIME, Nov. 29), flew across the Atlantic last week to make a deal that will give his country its first doorway into the synthetic-rubber industry. In Manhattan, Mattei signed contracts with Phillips Petroleum Co. and Union Carbide & Carbon Corp. for their processes and help in building a $75 million synthetic-rubber plant at Ravenna, in the Po Valley. It will turn out 35,000 tons of GR-S rubber and 350,000 tons of nitrogen fertilizer annually from nearby methane deposits. The plant will be not...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!