News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

Japan Chemical Web reports that Denki Kagaku Kogyo is considering the construction of a new plant for acetylene black, an electrically conductive type of specialty carbon black that is finding increased use for the cathode materials of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Denki Kagaku Kogyo plans to make a formal decision by the middle of this year on the project, which involves the construction of 3 bn yen ($30.1 mn), 6,000-t/y facility in its plant in Chiba Prefecture. The facility would start operation by the end of fiscal 2014. The company currently produces acetylene black in Japan at its Omuta plant in Fukuoka Prefecture and at a plant in Singapore.

Cabot Corporation announced today that the Board of its joint venture carbon black company, Cabot Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (CMSB), has decided to cease carbon black production at its Port Dickson, Malaysia, facility by the end of July 2013. Customer shipments from the plant are expected to continue for a period of time after production has been shut down. Cabot holds a 51 percent equity share in CMSB.

Dave Miller, president, Reinforcement Materials Segment, said in a press release, “Cabot and the CMSB Board have reached the decision that our carbon black plant in Malaysia is not well positioned to efficiently serve our customers in Southeast Asia on a long-term basis.” The closure, which will affect approximately 90 carbon black employees, was because of the facility’s manufacturing inefficiencies and raw materials costs.

The closure of the plant is expected to result in one-time cash and non-cash charges to the joint venture of approximately $13 million and $15 million, respectively. Annual savings for the joint venture are estimated to be approximately $7 million. Cabot owns 51 percent of the CMSB joint venture.