Cabot to expand capacity globally

ERJ staff report (R&PN)

Boston, Massachussetts -- Cabot Corp. plans to invest more than $180 million through 2013 to expand capacity for carbon black worldwide, a strategy that includes a new joint venture plant in China along with expansions in South America and Europe.

The expansions will increase Cabot's annual global carbon black output by about 15 percent, or more than 300,000 metric tons, the company said. Cabot claims global leadership in carbon black.

“We are making investments in support of Cabot's long-term strategy to grow in emerging markets,” said Patrick Prevost, Cabot president and CEO. “We already have a strong presence in many of the fastest growing regions in the world. These investments will further accelerate our growth.

In China, Cabot and Risun Chemicals Co. Ltd. have agreed to set up a joint venture to build and manage a $100 million carbon black plant in Xingtai City, China, that should be producing by 2013.

Cabot, through its Cabot (China) Ltd. subsidiary, will own 60 percent of the new venture. Risun Chemicals is a subsidiary of Risun Coal Chemicals Group Ltd.

The Xingtai plant will start production with an annual capacity of about 130,000 metric tons, with the potential to more than double to 300,000 tons, Cabot said.

The plant will be Cabot's second for carbon black in China. The other is in Tianjin, also a joint venture plant, with 300,000 metric tons/year capacity.

Other projects include: expanding capacity 50 percent in Indonesia; debottlenecking plants in Europe to boost capacity by 10 percent; and boosting capacity in South America by about 20 percent with investments at plants in Argentina and Brazil

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)

Press release from Cabot