Cabot Corporation has acquired NSCC Carbon (Jiangsu) from Nippon Steel Carbon, a subsidiary of Nippon Steel Chemical & Material. The carbon black manufacturing facility in Pizhou, Jiangsu Province, China, was originally commissioned in 2015.
Cabot has been actively exploring and implementing opportunities to increase capacity in its global carbon black network through plant expansions, operational improvements and debottlenecking projects.
This bolt-on acquisition will further support Cabot’s growth objectives and broaden its capabilities to serve customers in China. The 50,000 metric ton plant will support Cabot’s specialty carbons product line within the performance chemicals segment.
“This acquisition showcases the continued execution of our ‘Advancing the Zore’ strategy. It will not only strengthen our global leadership position in carbon black, but also enable us to continue to serve the growing needs of our specialty carbons customers worldwide. With our plants operating at high utilization levels, this acquisition will enable us to continue to be the partner of choice for our customers in key growth markets,” said Cabot president and CEO Sean Keohane.
President of Nippon Steel Carbon Shunichi Sakai said, “We are pleased to transfer the business to Cabot, which is the leader in the carbon black industry.”
The plant is scheduled to be temporarily mothballed to conduct maintenance and technology upgrades. The upgrades to manufacturing and environmental equipment will enable the site to be more flexible to manufacture different carbon black products and meet ever-stricter environmental standards.
The purchase price, which is payable upon satisfaction of certain conditions, and the equipment and technology upgrades are expected to result in spending of approximately US$50m over the next two years.
