Columbian Chemicals expanding carbon black capacity in Europe

On Monday, January 23, 2012, Columbian Chemicals announced an expansion project for its carbon black capacity in Europe. The project will add 30,000 metric tons of capacity in total, primarily at its sites in Santander, Spain and Tiszaújváros, Hungary. The additional capacity comes from debottlenecking of existing units in response to customer demands for additional carbon black. The company has filed IPPC permit modifications at the respective Environment Agencies. The additional capacity is expected to come on-stream in Q1 2012 as environmental operating permits are received.

According to Lester Tyra, Columbian’s VP Sales Europe, the new capacity is sorely needed. “Throughout 2011, we have been pushing our units to keep up with the high market demand for our products. Our customers continue to appreciate and value the high quality and reliable supply of carbon black coming from our four state of the art European facilities. Being strategically located at the center of carbon black demand is an advantage to meeting market needs. Our customers want us to help them develop their business, and I am delighted that we can answer positively,” stated Tyra.

Columbian Chemicals is part of Birla Carbon, the world leading carbon black business of the Aditya Birla Group, a $35 billion Indian conglomerate.