Evonik to Close Botlek Carbon Black Plant on 31 July
Evonik has announced that it will close its Botlek, Netherlands carbon black plant on 31 July 2010 as part of a production “realignment” programme. Plans are said to be in place for the site to continue as a supplier of energy to businesses located in the vicinity for the news few years. "While the Botlek facility has always excelled in quality and efficiency, the market has moved away from Northwest Europe. Botlek’s great performance is, unfortunately, not enough to overcome the logistical disadvantage", said Jack Clem, Evonik’s head of Carbon Black.
According to the company, the guiding principle behind the realignment of Evonik's European carbon black production capacities is “closer to the customer.” Their view is that, with the carbon black market in Western Europe is increasingly shifting towards Central Europe and that the main drivers of this change are the major tyre manufacturers and producers of mechanical rubber goods.
As a result, over the coming months, Evonik will address this trend with targeted measures to realign its production capacity. This effort involves planned capacity expansion and production optimization measures at individual sites as the above closure. However, an official statement reassured customers that “Evonik’s remaining seven European carbon black plants will continue to ensure product availability for our customers.”
Just under two years ago, Evonik brought a new large-scale production plant on-stream in Brazil; throughout 2009 the firm conducted an extensive optimization effort at its Chinese operations; and recently completed a plant overhaul in South Africa. A review is currently underway regarding expansion and product mix optimization plans for plants in Korea and again in China.
By the end of 2010, Evonik’s worldwide production capacity will reach over 1.4 million metric tons per annum. “Our global optimization program sees us emerging from the global crisis stronger than before and reinforces our position as a reliable partner to our carbon black customers,” says Thomas Hermann, head of Evonik’s Inorganic Materials Business Unit.
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