BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 12, 2016--
Cabot
Corporation announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cabot
(China) Ltd., has signed a joint venture agreement with Inner
Mongolia Hengyecheng Silicone Co., Ltd (HYC), to form a joint venture to
manufacture fumed
silica in China. Cabot will hold an 80 percent share in the joint
venture and HYC will own the remaining 20 percent. The agreement was
signed following a ceremony on September 12th at the
InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin Hotel.
The joint venture will invest approximately $60 million to build a
world-class fumed silica manufacturing facility to be located in Wuhai,
China. The new facility will have a manufacturing capacity of 8,000
metric tons of fumed silica per year. Subject to obtaining the necessary
governmental and regulatory approvals, construction of the plant is
expected to begin in early 2017 and will be completed in 2019. The
project will allow Cabot to meet the growing demand for its
high-quality, high-performance fumed silica, enabled by a long-term
reliable source of feedstock.
“Growing in our core is a key component of our new corporate strategy,
and today’s announcement is confirmation of our ongoing commitment to
this strategy. We are a market leader for fumed silica, and this
investment will further strengthen our position in this core market,”
said Sean Keohane, president and chief executive officer, Cabot
Corporation. “Cabot has achieved tremendous success over the years in
China, and we continue to see great opportunities to innovate and
support our customers while being a model for sustainable production in
China. We are partnered with a leader in HYC, and through this
partnership we will establish a world-class fumed silica production site
in China.”
“Through this planned investment, we will be able to further strengthen
our market leadership position for fumed silica and promote growth in a
variety of industries in China,” said Nick Cross, executive vice
president and president, Performance Chemicals segment. “This joint
venture will provide a catalyst for growth in China and we look forward
to serving local customers with high-quality products and solutions
while capturing growth in the rapidly growing sectors of automotive,
construction, renewable energy and other industries.”
“We are pleased to partner with an industry leader and innovator such as
Cabot to build this state-of-the-art fumed silica plant,” said Wang
Yongquan, Chairman of Zhejiang Zhongcheng Holding Group Co., Ltd, parent
company of HYC. “Not only will we have access to Cabot’s silica for use
in our silicone compounding operation, but we also will be able expand
production efficiencies through the utilization of a closed loop system.”
Cabot has had operations in China for almost 30 years, and currently
operates four manufacturing sites in Shanghai, Xingtai, Jiangxi and
Tianjin. The new plant in Wuhai will become Cabot’s seventh fumed silica
plant throughout its network in Asia, Europe and the United States.
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, 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.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160912005214/en/
Source: Cabot Corporation
Cabot Corporation
Vanessa Craigie
Media Relations, 617-342-6015
