MEDICINE HAT, Alberta—Cancarb Ltd., a subsidiary of Tokai Carbon Co. Ltd., said it plans to spend $40.1 million to expand its thermal carbon black production capacity by adding a sixth production unit at its facility in Medicine Hat.
"Cancarb is currently operating at capacity and continues to invest in new application development that will drive growth into the next decade," said Ross Buchholz, Cancarb vice president of quality and development. "In addition, the outlook for natural gas, Cancarb's largest input, is stable for the foreseeable future as production growth is limited by demand growth."
Cancarb currently is completing the final engineering and tendering process, Buchholz said, with construction to tentatively begin in April, with a targeted completion by the summer of 2020.
The company purchased the warehouse adjacent to the plant earlier in 2018 with the intent to refurbish it for this project, Buchholz said.
The $40.1 million cost includes the warehouse and land purchase. The new "East Warehouse" will add 27,000 square feet of additional storage capacity. In total, Cancarb will have 90,000 square feet of warehouse space in Medicine Hat.
The expansion will not just add capacity but employees as well. Cancarb currently has 78 employees, Buchholz said, and will bring on nine full-time positions.
Cancarb produces and markets thermal carbon black in more than 40 countries. It currently has five thermal carbon black units with a total capacity of 45,000 metric tons. The firm said the sixth unit will add 9,000 tons of capacity and will produce Cancarb's signature grades of its Thermax-brand medium thermal carbon black.