Cabot and Risun break ground on carbon black plant in Xingtai City

Cabot Corporation and joint venture partner Risun Chemicals Company have broken ground on their new carbon black manufacturing facility in Xingtai, China.
The project is due to be completed in mid-2013 and will further solidify Cabot’s position as the world’s No 1 producer of carbon black.
Cabot and Risun are investing approximately US$140M in the facility, with Cabot owning a 60% equity interest.

The facility, located about 250 miles south of Beijing in Heibei Province, will help support tyre and automotive growth in China. The material is also used in many automotive parts, including adhesives and sealants, battery materials, coatings and more. According to IHS Automotive, China’s motor vehicle fleet is expected to grow to approximately 315M vehicles over the next 10 years, up from 102M vehicles today.
Cabot and Risun’s new Xingtai facility will have a Phase I manufacturing capacity of 130,000t/yr of carbon black and will enable Cabot to increase its carbon black manufacturing capacity in China by 25%.

"We’re committed to supporting China in achieving its goal of increased mobility, and we’re going to do it in a highly sustainable way,” said Patrick Prevost, Cabot president and CEO. "Our customers in China value us because we’ve established our technology leadership position in this industry over the past 20 years. We’re also investing significantly in process equipment and infrastructure to increase our energy efficiency and minimise our impact to the environment. Our new facility in Xingtai demonstrates this commitment.”
"We specifically want to thank the Hebei Provincial Government, the Xingtai Municipal and County Government and Risun Chemical Co., Ltd who have been invaluable to the continuation and success of Cabot’s manufacturing development in China,” Prevost said. "We are proud of our operations in China and we believe that this plant will enable us to bring brand new products to customers, and move the carbon black industry in China towards a new era of a green economy.”