ESSEN, Germany—Evonik Industries A.G. has decided to build a multimillion dollar silica plant in
Americana, Brazil, and complete the project in 2015.
The facility will market the precipitated silica it produces within South America. It will be Evonik's first such plant on the continent, the company said. The project is in response to increasing demand for fuel-saving tires, which use silica, and demand in the feed and food, and the paints and coatings industries.
"In our expansion course, we aim to accompany the growth of our global key customers, particularly in the tire industry," said Thomas Haeberle, member of the Evonik Executive Board and responsible for the company's Resource Efficiency Segment. Evonik expects additional demand to arise from a planned labeling obligation for fuel-saving tires in Brazil.
Evonik also has a major expansion in the works at a U.S. precipitated silica factory.