Cabot completes acquisition of Bridgestone carbon black plant in Mexico

Boston, Massachusetts – Cabot Corp. has completed a previously announced acquisition of Bridgestone Corp.’s reinforcing carbon black facility in Mexico.

The deal was announced in August last year and the value of the transaction was put at $70 million (€60 million) at the time.

In a 2 Feb statement, Cabot said the it has long supplied Bridgestone with reinforcing carbon products, and the acquisition would further strengthen the partnership between the two companies.

Located near Cabot’s existing facility in Altamira, Mexico, the Mexico Carbon Manufacturing SA de CV (MXCB) will enhance production capacity and operational flexibility while enabling the production of a broader range of reinforcing carbon products.

“This acquisition?represents?a significant step forward in our strategy to grow in our core markets,” said Cabot president and CEO, Sean Keohane.

By adding the MXCB facility, he said, Cabot is “expanding our manufacturing capabilities, enhancing supply reliability for our customers, and positioning Cabot for long-term success.”

Bridgestone officially opened the MXCB carbon black plant in 2008, to supply its tire plants in North America as well as Central and South America.

As ERJ reported at the time, production capacity at the Mexican plant was forecast to reach 35 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) – adding to output from the group's carbon black facilities in Japan and Thailand.

The move is part of Bridgestone's strategy to streamline its operations and focus on core products to enhance profitability.

As part of this, the group sold its Thai carbon black operations, which has a nameplate capacity to produce 40ktpa of carbon black, to Toka Carbon last year. (ERJ report)