Birla Carbon today announced a 15% price increase for all carbon black products manufactured in North America, effective July 1, 2022. All shipments made on or after this date are subject to the price increase.
Increasing costs in materials, freight, logistics, and operations are the key reasons for this necessary change.
Notch will be presenting a paper on current conditions in the global carbon black industry at the Tire Tech Expo happening this week at the Hannover Messe, Germany. This giant conference/trade show is an absolute must for anyone interested in the tire industry. Notch is presenting on Day 2 (Thursday, May 19) during the “Solutions in Polymer, Filler and Compound Additives” session, which begins at 9:00 AM. There are many, many papers of interest over all three days, as well as a full trade show on-site. Hope to see you there.
The Asia Pacific Carbon Black Conference, which was scheduled to be held in Singapore from November 9-10, 2022, has been postponed to 2023. Tentative dates are October 1-3, 2023, but that may be moved forward to the April-to-June period depending on the COVID outlook at that time. A final decision will be made in June.
The conference’s International Advisory Board cited the evolving Covid situation, the indoor mask mandates still in force in Singapore, China’s current battle with Covid, huge increases in airfares due to oil price spikes and several operational issues as the factors behind the decision.
Orion Engineered Carbons announced today it aspires to align its sustainability objectives with the Paris Climate Agreement and strive to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. To meet this goal, Orion has developed a roadmap with near- and long-term targets. These targets include:
In a press release announcing the program, Orion CEO Corning Painter said, “We know our goal is ambitious and we want to make sure it’s meaningful. Like most companies, we can’t say we have all the answers now. But we’re determined to work hard to find sustainable solutions with collaboration, innovation and the right regulatory environment.”
On Monday, March 7, Orion Engineered Carbons issued a statement on the conflict in Ukraine. The statement is presented in its entirety below.
How are natural gas prices in Europe impacting your business?
On a net basis, our business in Europe is facing an overall manageable headwind from current energy pricing developments. We have hedging programs in place and for our formula and nonformula customers, natural gas costs are part of our pricing negotiations.
Do you have assets in Russia or Ukraine?
No. We do not have any direct risk exposure in Russia or Ukraine.
Do you import Carbon Black Oil as feedstock from Russia?
No, we do not.
How much of your business in Europe is spot versus contracted?
Spot is less than ten percent of our business in Europe.
Do you have any capacity available for customers who need to move their business from Russia or Ukraine to Europe?
Our capacity remains tight in Europe. However, our new production line in Ravenna Italy was recently commissioned which adds capacity to the region and the line should be filled sooner than anticipated.
Do you have Ukrainian or Russian customers which you no longer deliver to?
Historically, Orion’s business activities in Ukraine and Russia have been very limited. Our few Russian customers have been informed that deliveries to them have been discontinued.
ERJ reports that Orion Engineered Carbons is commissioning a new 25,000 ton/year reactor for speciality and technical rubber carbon black production at its facility in Ravenna, Italy. The plant will start operations the first week of March and will serve primarily the European market. Additional investments at the 60-year-old plant include a new co-generation facility to convert waste heat into electricity, generating up to 120 MWh of green electricity per year. Roughly 7% of the power generated at the plant will be supplied to the national grid.
The article states that the facility in Italy marks the first new reactor for carbon black production in the European Union in over 40 years. This statement is technically correct, but it should be noted that in 1994 two new carbon black plants started up in Europe: a Cabot factory in Valasske Mezirici, Czech Republic and a Columbian Chemicals factory in Tiszaújváros, Hungary. Neither the Czech Republic nor Hungary were members of the European Union at the time — both countries joined in 2004. Both of these plants have been expanded since they were built: CS Cabot in the Czech Republic was expanded 1996 and 2002, while the Columbian factory in Hungary was expanded in 2008 and 2012. The Hungary plant is now part of Birla Carbon and recently celebrated its 25-year anniversary.
On February 15, Cabot Corporation announced the groundbreaking of a new specialty compounds facility in Cilegon, Indonesia. The new facility is co-located with Cabot’s existing carbon black manufacturing site and will add 20,000 metric tons of annual global capacity for specialty compounds, including black masterbatch and conductive compounds. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
According to Cabot, the facility will incorporate the company’s latest technology advances into the plant design and operations. Additionally, co-locating the specialty compounds facility with the company’s existing carbon black facility will promote manufacturing efficiencies while reducing waste, including the use of recovered waste-heat energy from carbon black production. This will reduce the environmental impact of the project in alignment with Cabot’s recently announced ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions globally by 2050. The carbon black plant in Cilegon is also scheduled for a capacity expansion scheduled to come on-stream in 2024.
Notch Consulting and Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin are proud to announce the publication of their first co-authored report, Prospects for Recovered Carbon Black 2022. This 94-page report provides a comprehensive overview of the global market for recovered carbon black, or carbon black filler recycled from end-of-life tires. The report includes a global demand forecast through 2030, as well as in-depth discussions of leading suppliers, joint ventures and collaborations, current capacity and planned expansion projects, and the current state of tire pyrolysis technology.
Prospects for Recovered Carbon Black 2022 is presented in two parts:
1. rCB Market Outlook from Notch Consulting provides an overview of the global carbon black industry along with the rCB demand forecast, current and planned rCB capacity, joint ventures and collaborative agreements, and industry developments
2. rCB Technology & Company Profiles from Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin provides an overview of tire pyrolysis, a discussion of rCB production, processing, and standards, and detailed profiles of 22 leading rCB companies.
The report is provided as a printable PDF along with an Excel spreadsheet. The cost is $5,500 for the single-user license or $7,500 for the multi-user corporate license. Contact info @notchconsulting.com or martin @wolfersdorff.com for more information or to order.
The Carbon Black China 2022 conference, which was scheduled for April 19-22, 2022 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, has been postponed until the second half of the year due to COVID. The specific dates of the conference will be determined by conditions at that time.
Due to the current rapid escalation of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 throughout Europe, the Tire Technology Expo 2022 is being postponed by 6 weeks and will now be held on May 18-20, 2022. The location remains the same, the Deutche Messe exhibition center in Hannover, Germany.
Conference organizers said they are making the change to enable delegates, speakers, and exhibitors to enjoy the show in the early summer when many of the complications associated with Covid-19 are less impactful. “Based on everything we have seen in the last two years,” Tony Robinson, founder of the conference, said, “A lower risk of Covid-19 transmission in the warmer months is the most significant benefit of the 6 week postponement along with easier travel and hopefully no requirement for mask wearing or other restrictions.”