News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

November 19, 2020

Bolder Industries and Continental Carbon announce marketing agreement for recovered carbon black

Filed under: Carbon Black, Recovered Carbon Black — Notch @ 3:09 am

Bolder Industries (Boulder, Colorado) and Continental Carbon Company (Houston, Texas) this week announced a co-marketing agreement to commercialize a new line of Continental’s furnace black products that will incorporate Bolder Black’s recovered carbon black in the blend. This is a first in the carbon black industry and follows five years of research and development work, according to Bolder. The line will include N550, N650, N660, N762, and N774 grades, with markets in both the rubber and plastics markets. Customers will be able to select pre-blended fillers customized at various ratios. Bolder’s BolderBlack is produced from 100% post-consumer or post-industrial tires and rubber scrap. Continental Carbon is one of the largest carbon black producers in the United States.

“We have always believed in partnering with the traditional carbon black manufacturers to support the end customer. We can now provide a unique solution to tire companies, industrial rubber goods, and plastics manufacturers ​at a large scale,” said Tony Wibbeler, founder and CEO of Bolder Industries, in a press release announcing the venture. On October 27, 2020, Bolder Industries agreed to merge with GigCapital2, Inc. and become a publicly traded company.

“We have been impressed by the quality, consistency, and manufacturing prowess of Bolder Industries and strongly believe this is an​ important step toward a more profitable and sustainable future for the rubber and plastics industry. This strategic partnership allows us to offer soft-grade blends into a marketplace that desperately needs to provide a closed-loop solution,” said CCC President Dennis Hetu.

 

 

 

November 12, 2020

Carbon Black China 2020 conference rescheduled for December

Filed under: Carbon Black, Conferences — Notch @ 10:33 pm

The Carbon Black China 2020 conference, originally scheduled for April and postponed due to COVID-19, has been rescheduled for December 14-17, 2020. The conference will be held at the Xinglinwan Hotel, Xiaman, Fujian, China. The conference is implementing strict protocols for attendance, including requiring masks and temperature detectors upon entry, as well as requiring attendees to provide proof of health upon arrival. This is an excellent, well organized, and comprehensive conference, and is highly recommended for those who can attend. Notch Consulting will present a virtual paper at the conference on global carbon black supply and demand.

October 14, 2020

Orion completes cogen upgrade at Borger, TX plant

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 9:44 pm

On October 13, Orion Engineered Carbons announced the completion of a cogeneration project at its carbon black plant in Borger, Texas. The new cogen unit uses tail gas from the carbon black production process to produce electrical power. Orion did not provide details on the size of the unit, but it will provide enough electricity to run the plant, with the excess provided back to the regional grid for local use.

October 12, 2020

Carbon Black World conference postponed to 2021

Filed under: Carbon Black, Conferences, Coronavirus/COVID-19 — Notch @ 9:53 pm

The Carbon Black World 2020 conference, which was originally scheduled to be held November 10-12, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been postponed to a still-to-be determined date in 2021 due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Smithers, the organizer, made the announcement on October 8. The Carbon Black World conference is held every other year and typically moves back and forth between Europe and North America. The last CBW conference was held in September 2018 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Smithers plans to hold a number of webinars dedicated to carbon black in the coming weeks. Details to follow as they become available.

September 29, 2020

Cabot raising specialty black prices worldwide

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 5:56 pm

On September 28, 2020, Cabot Corporation announced that, effective November 1, 2020, or as customer contracts allow, the company will increase prices by up to 8% on all carbon black products sold by its specialty carbons business globally.

The company said the price increase is necessary to address substantially increasing costs including specific input costs as well as operating costs driven by global, industry-wide strengthening of emissions compliance standards, including SOX and NOX air pollution controls in the United States, Phase IV of the EU Emission Trading scheme, and efforts throughout Asia to reduce pollution in accordance with local laws and permitting programs.

September 23, 2020

Tire Tech Expo delayed until June 2021

Filed under: Carbon Black, Conferences, Coronavirus/COVID-19, General — Notch @ 8:32 pm

Tire Technology Expo, originally scheduled to be held at the Deutsche Messe, Hannover in March 2021, has been rescheduled to June 8-10, 2021, as a result of the still fluid Covid-19 situation across Europe. In addition to the in-person Expo coming in June, the group is planning several Virtual Conferences and Virtual Technology Showcases, which will be announced shortly. 

Last week, the group successfully held the Testing Expo China Automotive show in Shanghai, which attracted 230 exhibitor stands and 8,000 visitors over three days.

 

 

September 20, 2020

International Tar Association to hold free virtual conference this week

Filed under: Carbon Black, Conferences, General — Notch @ 10:07 pm

The International Tar Association (ITA) will hold a 2020 Virtual Conference on Tuesday, September 22nd at 7:45 am EST – 11:15 am EST. There is no registration fee to attend the conference, which will consist of six presentations from industry experts providing updates on the coal tar, coal tar distillation, and related industries. The conference will include PDF copies of each paper and a chat function for questions. Register here.

September 18, 2020

Bridgestone closing French tire plant in 2021

Filed under: Carbon Black, General, Rubber Chemicals, Tires — Notch @ 1:44 pm

On September 16, Bridgestone Corporation announced plans to cease production at its 60-year-old passenger tire plant in Bethune, France in 2021. The company said the decision came in response to the challenging long-term outlook for the European passenger tire market, and that the closure represents the only viable path to safeguard the competitiveness of Bridgestone’s operations in Europe. All manufacturing operations at the site would cease, affecting 863 workers.

The current industry context for passenger tyres is threatening Bridgestone’s competitiveness in the European market. For the last several years, the market for passenger tyres has been facing strong headwinds – even without taking into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The passenger tyre market has seen its volumes stabilize over the last few years (average annual growth < 1%) while competition from low-cost Asian brands continues to increase (market share of 6% in 2000 increased to 25% in 2018) leading to general production overcapacity. This has resulted in pressure on pricing and margins, as well as overcapacity in the Low Rim Diameter segment, given a declining demand in LRD. And within Bridgestone’s overall European footprint, the Bethune plant is the least well positioned and least competitive.

Over the last years, Bridgestone has taken several measures, including attempts to increase the competitiveness of the Bethune plant. These have proven to be insufficient and Bridgestone has been losing money on tyres produced in Bethune for several years. Considering the current market dynamics, no improvement in the situation is foreseeable.

The decision drew immediate protest from the union and workers, who protested outside the plant the day following the announcement.

September 15, 2020

Tokai Carbon CB raising carbon black prices in the US

Filed under: Carbon Black — Notch @ 8:37 am

Effective October 1, or as customer contracts allow, Tokai Carbon CB Ltd. will increase prices for all carbon black products produced in the United States by $40 to $50/metric ton (1.8 to 2.27 cents/pound). The EPA charge of $88.00/ton (4 cents/pound) will remain in effect. The company said that the price change will support the continued increasing cost of operations, labor, and environmental compliance.

Here is the press release.

 

 

 

August 31, 2020

Further update on Hurricane Laura

Filed under: Carbon Black, General — Notch @ 1:01 pm

As of 7 AM, Monday, August 31, here is the status of Orion Engineered Carbon’s two US plants affected by Hurricane Laura:

  1. Ivanhoe, LA
    • We now have full access to the plant
    • Both power and gas supply have been restored
    • Plant is now on startup as of yesterday [Sunday] and should be producing certain grades later today [Monday].
    • Orion rail spur was damaged but we expect such repairs to be concluded by noon today [Monday].
    • Bulk trucks shipments will resume today [Monday].
    • We expect rail shipments out of the plant to resume this afternoon [Monday].
    • There was a rumor that our plant was flooded. That is incorrect. The area did flood but our flood barrier prevented our plant from flooding.
  2. Orange, TX
    • Plant has full access.
    • Plant is manned and ready to start up.
    • However, power has not been restored. Last night, our power supplier provided an update with a much longer time to restore power given the extensive damage due to the Hurricane in the area. Current estimates put power being restored at the beginning of the week of September 7th. This may still change (earlier or later).
    • We have rented generators to allow access and loading of bulk trucks and railcars.
    • Given this extended delay in power being restored we will be revising the inventory and supply situation and communicating with you.

Overall, these reports, along with previous reports from other suppliers, indicate that long-term damage to carbon black plants in the region from the hurricane was negligible. Some short-term shortages are likely due to power outages and shipping disruptions.

Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress.com.