Cabot starts $100m Indonesian expansion

Boston, Massachusetts – Cabot Corp. has broken ground on an expansion project at its carbon black manufacturing plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, the company announced 21 Nov.

The phase 1 of the project will add 80 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of capacity at the site, which produces rubber black grades within Cabot’s reinforcement business.

The product, said Cabot in a written statement to ERJ, is primarily used for tire applications.

“This is the first phase of our planned expansion in Cilegon, and when all the phases are completed, the total investment will be more than $100 million (€90 million),” Cabot told ERJ 23 Nov.

The current phase is set for completion in 2021.  

The new capacity will provide “a reliable, local, high quality supply” to serve the demand in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, which currently is growing at 4-5% per year, according to Cabot.

The expansion in Cilegon is part of a larger global capacity expansion and debottlenecking project, announced in May 2018. 

At the time, Cabot said it was expanding its global carbon black manufacturing capacity by 300 ktpa. 

This capacity increase is enabling Cabot to support the growth of its tire, industrial rubber and specialty carbons customers worldwide.

Cabot started its operations in Indonesia 30 years ago and has had close partnership with the Indonesian government through the years.

“Indonesia is determined to be one of the major economic powers in the coming decade, and this investment demonstrates our confidence and commitment to contributing to that goal,” said Dixy Olyviardy, managing director, Cabot Asia Pacific South and president, Cabot Indonesia.