Cabot Signs Deal To Form JV To Manufacture Fumed Silica In China - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Cabot Corp. (CBT), a specialty chemicals and performance materials company, announced Friday that its unit Cabot (China) Ltd., has signed a joint venture agreement with Inner Mongolia Hengyecheng Silicone Co., Ltd or HYC, to form a joint venture to manufacture fumed silica in China.

Cabot will hold an 80 percent share in the joint venture and HYC will own the remaining 20 percent. The joint venture will invest approximately $60 million to build a world-class fumed silica manufacturing facility to be located in Wuhai, China.

The new facility will have a manufacturing capacity of 8,000 metric tons of fumed silica per year. Subject to obtaining the necessary governmental and regulatory approvals, construction of the plant is expected to begin in early 2017 and will be completed in 2019.

Cabot said the project will allow it to meet the growing demand for its high-quality, high-performance fumed silica, enabled by a long-term reliable source of feedstock.

Cabot, which has had operations in China for almost 30 years, currently operates four manufacturing sites in Shanghai, Xingtai, Jiangxi and Tianjin.

The new plant in Wuhai will become Cabot's seventh fumed silica plant throughout its network in Asia, Europe and the United States.