Orion to increase hard carbon black capacity at US plant

Houston, Texas - Orion Engineered Carbons is planning to increase the production of hard carbon black at its manufacturing site in Ivanhoe, Louisiana.

In an 8 Nov statement, the US supplier said it intended to invest an undisclosed amount in converting a reactor line at the plant, from manufacturing soft carbon black to producing hard carbon black, commonly used in tire treads.

The investment will increase Orion’s local supply of hard black to the US by 30,000 tonnes per year by mid-2022, according to CEO Corning Painter. 

“With the continued onshoring of tire production to the US, the carbon black supply-demand balance is getting tighter, particularly for hard carbon black,” said Painter.

“To help support this aspect of the automotive tire supply chain, we are going to invest in converting a reactor at our Ivanhoe plant,” he added.

Carbon black is used in the production of tires to make them stronger, reduce treadwear, and enable the fine-tuning of the products.