Aug 17 2006
Cabot Corporation announced today the start-up of China's first world-class fumed silica manufacturing facility located in Jiangxi Province, China. The facility is a project of Cabot Bluestar Chemical (Jiangxi) Company Ltd., a joint venture between a Cabot subsidiary, Cabot (China) Limited, and Bluestar New Chemical Materials Co., Ltd., a member of the ChemChina Group. Cabot Bluestar Chemical (Jiangxi) Company Ltd. invested approximately US$27 million to construct the plant with an annual capacity of 4,800 metric tons.
The new facility is designed to primarily serve the growing fumed silica market in China. Cabot Chairman and CEO Kennett F. Burnes said, "The adoption of fumed silica in industrial applications in China is growing rapidly. We are confident that with the successful commissioning of our new facility, we are well-positioned to meet the needs of our customers in China by providing high quality product in a timely manner."
Mr. Ren Jianxin, president of ChemChina, parent of China National Bluestar Group, said, "The successful production start-up of this high quality fumed silica plant is the result of close cooperation between Cabot's project team and Bluestar's Xinghuo plant personnel. This project reflects the close relationship between Cabot and ChemChina at all levels."
"Our domestic customers are anxious to use the products from our Jiangxi facility because this will significantly shorten their transportation cycle and provide a more reliable source of supply," said Mr. Xinsheng Zhang, president of Cabot (China) Limited. "We expect immediate full utilization of the production capacity of this plant."