Update: Cabot acquires Chinese carbon black manufacturer

Boston, Massachusetts – Cabot Corp. has acquired Chinese carbon black manufacturing company NSCC Carbon (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd, from Nippon Steel Carbon Co, the Boston-based company has announced.

The deal includes a 50 kilotonne-per-annum (ktpa) carbon black production facility in Pizhou, Jiangsu Province, China, which was originally commissioned in 2015.

In a press release 1 Oct , Cabot announced that it was planning to temporarily mothball the plant in order to conduct maintenance and technology upgrades.

The US carbon black manufacturer did not give details of the transaction but said it expected to spend $50 million (€43.3 million) - purchase price included - on the plant over the next two years.

In a statement to ERJ, Cabot confirmed that the NSCC facility has run as a rubber black plant but said it was planning to develop the unit to additionally produce special black grades to support its speciality carbons product line.

"This deal will provide more flexibility across our carbon black network and will benefit both our rubber and special black businesses," the company added.

The planned investment will also address environmental aspects of production.

"Cabot has a strong focus on safety, health and environmental (SH&E), and the upgrades will include advanced environmental control technology to bring the site up to our high SH&E standards and meet ever-stricter environmental standards," the company added.

Tokyo-based Nippon Steel Carbon Co. is a subsidiary of Nippon Steel Chemical & Material Co.