Cabot resumes work on Indonesia carbon black expansion

Boston, Massachusetts – Cabot Corp. has resumed a project to expand its carbon black production plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, and expects to complete the project later this year. 

The company broke ground on the project to add capacity for the production of 80 kilotonnes per annum of rubber black grades at its existing site in Cilegon in 2019.

However, in 2020, it temporarily suspended the investment, after a review of its capital allocation priorities.

The company has now restarted work on the project and anticipates the additional capacity to become available by mid-2025, Cabot announced during a 4 Dec 2024 investor day.

Cabot said the expansion will nearly double the plant's capacity, enabling it to supply to the local market with shorter lead times.

The project was estimated to cost $100 million (€90 million) when it was initially announced in 2019.

Cabot is the only reinforcing carbons producer in Indonesia, according to Bart Kalkstein, Cabot's EVP & president, reinforcement materials & Americas region.

Southeast Asia is the world's fastest growing market region, which is currently "short of capacity and relying on imports" added Kalkstein.