MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cabot Corporation and joint venture partner Risun Group announced the completion and commissioning of their new carbon black manufacturing facility in Xingtai, Hebei Province, China. According to press-release of Cabot Corporation, Cabot and Risun invested approximately USD140 million in the new facility, with Cabot owning a 60 percent equity interest.
Cabot and Risun broke ground on the new facility in April 2012. The site’s Phase I manufacturing capacity will be 130,000 metric tons of carbon black per year. As a result, Cabot’s overall carbon black manufacturing capacity in China increases by 25 percent. The addition of Xingtai solidifies Cabot’s position as the world’s leading producer of carbon black. The new plant also employs advanced emissions control and energy efficiency technology to minimize environmental impact and simultaneously reduce energy consumption.
“This new facility is a part of our long-term commitment to the tire industry as we seek to meet our customers’ needs across the globe,” said Patrick Prevost, Cabot president and chief executive officer. “Through the use of state-of-the-art technology in our new Xingtai plant, we will be able to supply high-performance carbon black products to the Chinese and Asia-Pacific markets. Through our investment in process equipment and infrastructure we are also able to increase our energy efficiency and minimize our environmental footprint.”
As we continue to strengthen our global carbon black business, we want to thank the Hebei Provincial Government, the Xingtai Municipal and County Governments, and Risun Group for their support,” continued Prevost.
Cabot continuously seeks to improve product solutions for the tire industry in order to help tire manufacturers meet the ever increasing performance demands for their products. The Xingtai plant will utilize state-of-the-art proprietary technology to produce Cabot’s ultra-reinforcing products VULCAN 9, VULCAN 10H and VULCAN 10HD, that are key materials for producing high-performance tires.