Cabot buys NSCC Carbon in US$50 million transaction

On 1 October Cabot Corporation acquired NSCC Carbon (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. from Nippon Steel Carbon Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Nippon Steel Chemical & Material Co., Ltd. The carbon black manufacturing facility in Pizhou, Jiangsu Province, China, was originally commissioned in 2015. The purchase price and certain equipment and technology upgrades are expected to result in spending of approximately $50 million over the next two years.

According to the company, Cabot has been “actively exploring and implementing opportunities to increase capacity in its global carbon black network through plant expansions, operational improvements and debottlenecking projects”. The 50,000 metric ton plant will support Cabot’s specialty carbons product line within the Performance Chemicals segment.

“This acquisition showcases the continued execution of our ‘Advancing the Core’ strategy,” said Cabot President and Chief Executive Officer Sean Keohane. “It will not only strengthen our global leadership position in carbon black, but also enable us to continue to serve the growing needs of our specialty carbons customers worldwide. With our plants operating at high utilization levels, this acquisition will enable us to continue to be the partner of choice for our customers in key growth markets.”

President of Nippon Steel Carbon Co., Ltd., Shunichi Sakai, said, “We are pleased to transfer the business to Cabot that is the leader in the carbon black industry.”

The plant is scheduled to be temporarily mothballed to conduct maintenance and technology upgrades. These are taking place at least partly to meet ever-stricter Chinese environmental standards.