Cabot opens Tianjin masterbatch plant

Cabot Corp. (Boston) has opened its new Tianjin masterbatch plant, investing $20 million in the black masterbatch plant inside its Tianjin facility, which is a joint venture with Shanghai Coking and Chemical Corp., a subsidiary of Shanghai Huayi Group Company Ltd. The plant, which is part of the world’s largest rubber and specialty carbon black facility, has annual nameplate capacity of approximately 45,000 tonnes with the capacity to expand to 80,000 tonnes in the future. Initial work on the facility began in February.

Cabot noted that this new world scale plant is the first fully integrated black masterbatch production plant with its carbon black production facilities. The Tianjin masterbatch plant will supply product to a broad range of industries, from China’s key infrastructure applications to the expanding automotive sector. “This new plant will support the growth of our customers in the Asia Pacific region with performance materials for their demanding applications,” noted Patrick Prevost, Cabot president and CEO. The Shanghai Huayi Group Company has partnered with Cabot for the past 23 years, on projects from Shanghai to Tianjin.