Cabot Corporation has broken ground on its carbon black capacity expansion project in Cilegon, Indonesia. This phase of the project will add approximately 80,000 metric tons of additional annual production capacity and is expected to be completed in 2021.
Cabot says that the new capacity from this project will provide a reliable, local, high-quality supply to serve the increasing carbon black demand in Indonesia and throughout Southeast Asia, which is growing at 4-5% per year.
The expansion in Cilegon is part of a larger global capacity expansion and de-bottlenecking project, announced in May 2018. Cabot has already made progress toward its stated goal of expanding global carbon black manufacturing capacity by 300,000 metric tons and will have reached this goal upon commissioning the expansion in Indonesia, the company says. This capacity increase is enabling Cabot to support the growth of its tire, industrial rubber and specialty carbons customers worldwide.
Dixy Olyviardy, managing director, Cabot Asia Pacific South, and president, Cabot Indonesia, added, “Cabot has been fortunate for the support and partnership of the Indonesian government throughout our 30 years of business in Indonesia. As a pioneer of its automotive and infrastructure industries, Cabot has made significant contributions to the country.
“Indonesia is determined to be one of the major economic powers in the coming decade, and this investment demonstrates our confidence and commitment to that goal. Our investment will not only enable our customers to grow their market with innovative and high-quality products, but more importantly, will benefit the communities and Indonesian people.”
