KOLKATA, India—Phillips Carbon Black Ltd. is "progressing strategically" with a production plant in southern India that will produce 150,000 metric tons of carbon black each year.
The manufacturer expects to invest $81.5 million in the greenfield plant, which will be located near Chennai, according to a recent quarterly update.
The plant is scheduled for completion in 2023. It will manufacture various grades of rubber black and specialty carbon black, PCBL said.
The Indian supplier did not say if construction work already has started on the plant, but said a wholly owned subsidiary—PCBL (TN) Ltd.—had been incorporated at the end of September for that purpose.
The plant is the latest in a series of expansion projects undertaken by the Indian manufacturer. Late last year, PCBL added two specialty carbon production lines at its facility in Palej with a combined capacity of 30,000 tons per year.
In 2019, the supplier expanded production at its brownfield unit in Mundra, Gujarat by 50,000 tons per year.
In addition, PCBL's innovation center in Belgium became operational in the summer of 2020, strengthening the company's R&D capabilities.
Working in tandem with Sushila Goenka Innovation Centre in Palej, Gujarat, the center will increase focus on process and machine technology, yield improvement, feedstock efficiency and customization of grades.
PCBL is estimated to be the largest Indian carbon black producer with 571,000 tons per year of production capacity, followed by Birla Carbon (314,000).
