News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

Recovered carbon black producer Black Bear has been selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Technology Pioneers’ alongside 55 other innovators. Black Bear develops technology to recover valuable materials from waste tires.

Each year the World Economic Forum names early to growth-stage companies from around the world as Technology Pioneers. This year, companies from a diverse set of industries have been selected, including developers of AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain and biotechnology.

“We’re excited to welcome Black Bear to this year’s innovative class of technology pioneers. Black Bear and its fellow pioneers are leaders in using novel technologies to transform their industries. We see great potential for these next-generation companies to shape solutions to global challenges and improve society for years to come,” said Fulvia Montresor, head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum.

Black Bear’s CEO, Martijn Lopes Cardozo, commented, “It’s an absolute honor to be acknowledged as a pioneer by the World Economic Forum. It is a confirmation that our technology is unique and that it carries the potential to have a global impact on both environmental and societal levels. We’ve tackled the waste tire problem by following principles of the circular economy: we identified a waste stream and figured out how to recover these valuable materials as sustainably as possible. We believe that a worldwide transition to a circular economy is essential in solving the climate crisis. This makes it extra rewarding that we’ve been named a tech pioneer and we are looking forward to contributing to the Forum dialogues.”

Read the full press release here.

On June 28, Cabot Corporation announced a price increase of $0.07 per pound for all carbon black shipments made in North America on or after August 1, 2019, or as customer contracts allow. In the press release, Cabot said:

This price increase is necessary to assure customers of continued supply reliability at a time of increasing demand from tire production in the region. Additionally, Cabot continues to make substantial investments and incur significant new costs to reduce air emissions and enhance the sustainability of its operations in the region. Cabot believes these actions will further augment its long-term value proposition to customers based on quality, reliability, and sustainability.

In the press release, Cabot also announced an update to the standard commercial policies for its Reinforcement Materials segment in North America, including changes to standard packaging, transportation, and warehousing premiums. These policies can be found in this PDF from the company.

Orion Engineered Carbons announced today that it will expand its production capacity for Gas Blacks at its Cologne (Kalscheuren) plant, Germany through a debottlenecking project. Gas Blacks are a type of premium specialty carbon black used mainly in high-end coatings, including high jet automotive OEM and refinish paints, antistatic coatings, and packaging and UV curing inks. Orion’s press release pointed to greater demand for waterborne and solventborne coatings as the main driver for the expansion. According to Orion, Gas Blacks feature excellent fineness and a very narrow particle size distribution to provide the deepest blackness Specialty Carbon Blacks available on the market.

Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. announced today that it is adopting the Platts North West Europe 1% Sulfur fuel oil index (FO 1%S FOB NWE) for contract pricing in Europe replacing the 1% Sulfur Rotterdam fuel oil index (FO 1%S FOB ROT) in Europe as of July 1, 2019. According to the company’s press release, the 1% Sulfur Rotterdam fuel oil index is no longer functional, does not trade forward and does not track other 1% indices anymore. FO 1%S FOB NWE is currently functioning and therefore is the appropriate index at this time, according to Orion. The company said it uses low sulfur carbon black oil (CBO) grades in Europe.

“Orion values our European customers and strives to work with them in a highly transparent way,” said Erik Thiry, Senior Vice President Rubber Carbon Black, said in the press release. “Orion will continue to closely monitor CBO market changes with the upcoming IMO Marpol 2020 regulations. We will keep our customers updated if further required changes are needed due to changes in feedstock markets. We look forward to growing our customer relationships with the reliable supply of value-added carbon blacks.”

Clariant has launched a new facility in Guangzhou, China, dedicated to the manufacturing and supply of specialty black masterbatches, to address the fast-growing China market.

With Black PET/PA masterbatches for fiber developing into a sizable business in China and some other Asian countries, the new production facility in Guangzhou will supplement existing supply from Clariant’s facility in Taiwan, which has been fully utilized, to jointly deliver product and services in the Greater China Region.

“Since 2016, we’ve been increasing our investments in equipment upgrade and facilities expansion to boost capacities and capabilities of the Clariant plants in China, Singapore, and the US. The expanded new production line here in Guangzhou, with a CHF 5 million of investment volume, will enhance our full range service in supplying specialty black masterbatches products for the market of packaging, consumer goods, fiber, automotive, and E&E. It also allows us to better serve local expectations and continue our commitment to main local customers in the segments,” said Bernd Hoegemann, Clariant’s Head of Business Unit Masterbatches.

Read the full press release here.