Birla expanding Spanish carbon black production

Gajano, Spain – Birla Carbon Spain (BCS) is investing €5 million in upgrading its production facility in the Gajano, northern Spain, to raise production capacity by 15,000 tonnes per year.

The investment is part of Birla’s commitment towards sustainability and energy efficiency and involves the installation of new equipment in one of manufacturing lines and the re-engineering of other critical equipment.

The company said in a 21 Sept statement that it will be using “one of the best available technologies in the carbon black industry” for the plant upgrade but did not elaborate further.

The expansion will bring total production capacity to 95 kilotonnes per annum.

Additionally, the company has inaugurated a new office and laboratory complex within its premises in Gajano.

"Our announcement today, not only drives productivity higher but makes us more sustainable,” said president of Cantabria, John Loudermilk, noting Birla's commitment to "investing in the future of its plants."

The investments, according to Loudermilk, include working on production capacity, technology as well as sustainability.

“The team in Spain has achieved record performance in many areas, which has generated the confidence to take on global challenges," added Jacinto Zarca, general manager, Birla Caron Spain.

With the additional capacity, Birla Spain aims to penetrate “high-end” carbon black market applications such as inks, plastics and coatings. Zarca added.

In addition to the €5-million investment, the carbon black maker said that it had completed a join research project with University of Cantabria, to use residual dryer heat flow to reduce purchase of steam by 30%.

In another project, partly financed by the Society for the Regional Development of Cantabria (SODERCAN), Birla Carbon is studying tapping into reactor gases, “using an innovative process that generates more value than simple combustion,” Birla added.