Expansion includes an additional 160,000 metric tons of capacity at manufacturing facility in Cilegon, Indonesia
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2018-- Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) announced the addition of significant capacity to its worldwide network of carbon black plants. Through the combination of a plant expansion, operational improvements, and debottlenecking projects, Cabot is expanding its global capacity by over 300,000 metric tons.
Bart Kalkstein, senior vice president and president, Reinforcement Materials, said, “This program will allow Cabot to continue to serve the growing needs of our customers worldwide with our industry-leading carbon black products. With our plants operating at high utilization levels, these investments will enable us to maintain our position as a leader in the carbon black industry and to offer our customers the security of reliable supply and availability of premium products that they have come to expect from Cabot.”
Cabot will add approximately 160,000 metric tons of capacity through an expansion at its facility in Cilegon, Indonesia. The new capacity will serve the increasing carbon black demand in Southeast Asia, which is growing at four to five percent per year. Cabot anticipates that product from this expansion will be available for sale starting in late 2020 or early 2021.
Jeff Zhu, president, Asia Pacific region, said, “Our tire and industrial rubber customers are making significant investments in Southeast Asia, and as their preferred partner, they are looking to us to provide the raw materials for their new investments. We appreciate the support of the Indonesian government who have been great partners since we began operations in 1988. This capacity expansion clearly demonstrates our ongoing commitment to delivering high quality products and services from local supply sources.”
“Cabot has a long-standing presence in Indonesia and we are excited to see them expand their footprint here through an investment with their newest technology and continue to contribute to the country’s growing economy,” said Tom Lembong, Chairman of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board. “Cabot’s commitment is a great testament to the company’s long-term success in Indonesia, and the Government of Indonesia will support the realization of this project.”
In addition to the expansion at Cilegon, Cabot is investing approximately $50 million in debottlenecking projects and operational improvements across 18 of its carbon black facilities. This program will provide an additional 150,000 metric tons of increased carbon black capacity which will be available for tire, industrial rubber and specialty carbon customers. To date, Cabot has completed approximately one-third of this capacity expansion, with full completion expected by 2021. These investments will increase Cabot’s global carbon black capacity to approximately 2.5 million metric tons.
Sean Keohane, president and chief executive officer, added, “Part of our corporate strategy is to invest for growth in our core businesses. These actions clearly showcase our commitment to be the partner of choice for our customers, not only for today, but into the future. Adding this new capital efficient capacity will provide a lever for growth for our Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals segments and contribute to the execution of our corporate financial and strategic objectives.”
ABOUT CABOT CORPORATION
Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is a leading provider of rubber and specialty carbons, activated carbon, inkjet colorants, cesium formate drilling fluids, masterbatches and conductive compounds, fumed silica, and aerogel. For more information on Cabot, please visit the company’s website at: http://www.cabotcorp.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in the press release regarding Cabot’s business that are not historical facts are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Source: Cabot Corporation
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