Cabot plans to expand carbon black capacity

Cabot Corp. plans to invest more than $180 million between now and 2013 to expand manufacturing capacity at plants in China, Indonesia, Brazil and Argentina, as well as adding capacity at three facilities in Europe. The expansions will increase Cabot’s annual global carbon black output by approximately 15 percent, or more than 300,000 metric tons. Carbon black is an intensely black performance material, used as a reinforcing agent in rubber as well as a pigmenting, UV stabilizing and conductive additive in a variety of other specialty products.
 
“We are making investments in support of Cabot’s long-term strategy to grow in emerging markets,” said Patrick Prevost, Cabot president and chief executive officer. “We already have a strong presence in many of the fastest growing regions in the world. These investments will further accelerate our growth.”

Investments in South America, specifically in Brazil and Argentina, will increase Cabot’s capacity in that region by approximately 20 percent. In Indonesia, Cabot is increasing capacity by approximately 50 percent, through a newly announced expansion project in Cilegon, and a previously announced expansion in Merak. In Europe, Cabot is also preparing debottlenecking actions in Europe, which will expand the company’s capacity by 10 percent. Additionally, in China, Cabot has announced it has entered into a joint venture with Risun Chemicals Company, Ltd., to construct a state-of-the-art carbon black facility in Xingtai. The new facility will expand Cabot’s capacity in China by approximately 25 percent, with 130,000 metric tons of capacity and the potential for expansion to 300,000 metric tons.

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