Phillips Carbon Black announces capacity expansion

Phillips Carbon Black, India’s largest carbon black producer, announced today a plan to invest Rs 300 crore (US$47M) in the current fiscal year to increase carbon black capacity by 80,000 tons at its plants in Mundra and Palej by March 2019. The project will raise PCBL’s total capacity to 560,000 tons. The company reported that it used 98% of its 480,000 tons of currently installed capacity last year. PCBL is also considering a new greenfield carbon black plant of 120,000 tons to be located in Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh. The company already owns a 60-acre plot in Tamil Nadu, which makes it the most likely location, though Andhra Pradesh is also under consideration. Both states are in southeastern India. Previously, PCBL announced plans to install a new production line dedicated to specialty blacks at its plant in Palej. This project is separate from the above announcement.