News Release Details

Project extends long-term relationship with Dow Corning

BOSTON, Jul 25, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT) will expand production capacity by 25 percent at its fumed silica facility in Barry, Wales, company officials said today.

The expansion is expected to be completed in 2012 and is part of a three-year plan to increase Cabot's global fumed metal oxide capacity by 35 to 40 percent.

The project is an extension of Cabot's long-term partnership with Dow Corning, and will help meet rising global demand for silicones, which is expected to continue to grow at 5 to 10 percent per year over the coming decade.

Cabot and Dow Corning have worked closely together in Barry since 1991, when Cabot built its fumed silica facility adjacent to Dow Corning's silicone monomer plant. As part of a highly interdependent and collaborative "fence-line" relationship, Dow Corning provides Cabot with silanes, which are converted to fumed silica for Dow Corning's compounded silicones applications.

Cabot and Dow Corning have a similar "fence-line" relationship in Midland, Mich.

"For over 30 years, we've built a long-term partnership with Dow Corning and demonstrated that we are committed to helping them grow," said Sean Keohane, Cabot vice president, Performance Segment. "This expansion represents a natural extension of our successful relationship."

"This expansion is an example of the continued spirit of partnership between the two companies," said James Whitlock, Dow Corning senior vice president and general manager, Core Business. "We look forward to working together with Cabot on future business opportunities."

Fumed silica is an ultra-fine, high-purity particle used as a reinforcing, thickening, abrasive, thixotropic, suspending, or anti-caking agent. The material is highly versatile and used in a wide-range of end-market applications for the automotive, construction, microelectronics and consumer products industries. Fumed silica helps improve the performance of adhesives, sealants, cosmetics, inks, toners, silicone rubber, coatings, polishing slurries, and pharmaceuticals.

Cabot currently has six fumed silica manufacturing facilities globally, including two in the United States (Tuscola, Ill., and Midland, Mich.), two in Europe (Barry, Wales and Rheinfelden, Germany), and two in Asia (Jiangxi Province, China and Mettur, India).

ABOUT CABOT CORPORATION

Cabot Corporation, headquartered in Boston, Mass., USA, is a global specialty chemical and performance materials company. Cabot's major products are carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, aerogel, capacitor materials, and cesium formate drilling fluids. The company's website is: http://www.cabot-corp.com.

ABOUT DOW CORNING

Dow Corning (dowcorning.com ) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the company's Dow Corning® and XIAMETER® brands. Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning's annual sales are outside the United States.

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.

SOURCE: Cabot Corporation

Cabot Corporation
Erica McLaughlin, 617-342-6090
Director, Investor Relations
or
John Shea, 617-342-6254
Manager, Corporate Communications