NEW YORK (Sept. 28, 2012)—Asia Carbon Inc. will begin converting three tire-grade lines into production lines into specialty carbon black lines, to take advantage of the higher margins of the specialty material, according to the company.
The project is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 and expected to take three months and cost about $4 million.
"This renovation is just another step in Asia Carbon's expansion plan. As with the recently announced construction of an on-site power plant, the benefits of the conversion are both financial and environmental," said Yao Guoyun, Asia Carbon chairwoman and CEO.
Having a cleaner manufacturing process, production of specialty carbon black products generates more revenue as it has a broader range of uses, the firm said. It is used as a pigmenting agent, UV stabilizer, and used in plastics, toners and printing inks, and can be sold at a premium. Specialty blacks currently are sold at $2,400 per ton, compared to carbon black at about $940 per ton, according to the company.