Leading manufacturer of carbon black, Cabot proclaimed that it intends to invest over $180 million between 2011 and 2013 to increase the production capacity of its plants in Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia and China. The expansion also includes three plants in Europe.
Cabot will increase its worldwide carbon black output by over 300,000 metric tons or by approximately 15% annually through the expansion plans. In rubber compounding, Carbon black is utilized as a reinforcing material. It is also used as a conductive, UV stabilizing and pigmenting material in numerous other applications.
Through investments, Cabot will improve its production capacity in the South American region, particularly in Argentina and Brazil, by nearly 20%. The company will expand the annual production capacity in Indonesia by nearly 50% through the expansion plans at Merak and Cilegon. The company is also planning de-bottlenecking activities at its plants in Europe in order to increase the capacity by 10%.
Cabot proclaimed that in China, it has inked a joint venture agreement with Risun Chemicals Company to build an advanced carbon black plant in Xingtai. The new plant with an initial capacity of 130,000 metric tons will increase the annual production capacity of Cabot in China by nearly 25%. The production capacity of the new plant can probably be increased to 300,000 metric tons.
Source: http://www.cabot-corp.com