He also thinks the company and its rivals should benefit significantly from being able to pass on the increasing cost of rubber and other raw materials because their prices were, in fact, stabilizing.

FORBES: Magazine Article

By the 1950s it was running sugar-cane boards and making rubber, cement, mining materials and explosives.

ECONOMIST: Business and politics in Taiwan

The plastination process involves replacing the natural body fluids with synthetic materials such as silicone rubber, epoxy resin or polyester.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Preserved body slice on display

While industrialised 3D printing has been around for decades, printing in a variety of materials including ceramics, metal and rubber, the desktop versions are far more limited.

BBC: Has 3D printing in the home been over-hyped?

Umasi, a collection of work by artist Wells Mason, blurs the line between sculpture and furniture, with man-made materials such as stainless steel and tempered glass colliding with organic (exquisitely finished woods) and even obviously salvaged materials (a telephone pole, recycled rubber, bicycle parts).

FORBES: Above photo courtesy of John Langford

The company, which currently gets most of its rubber from a plantation in Liberia, is also exploring other natural materials for producing the raw material for tires, including Russian dandelions and a native Southeast bush called guayule.

FORBES: How Bridgestone's Innovative New Tires Will Save You Fuel

The steel mill he bought in 1989 was part of Ford's great River Rouge plant, where the father of mass-produced cars turned raw materials into vehicles on a single site -- transforming ore and rubber into finished cars (see box, p.122).

FORBES: Man of steel

The phone's anti-slip finishes and materials are scratch and ding resistant, while the sealed housing design and rubber port covers resist dirt and water intrusion.

ENGADGET: Alcatel One Touch Shockwave reaches US Cellular, takes your bumps and scrapes for $50

Stored batch materials cool and must be reheated before use, conditions that can create flaws in the rubber, as well as waste.

ECONOMIST: Re-inventing the wheel