Orion Engineered Carbons, a global specialty chemicals company, said it has debottlenecked a post-treatment unit at its Cologne, Germany, plant that produces high-jetness specialty carbon blacks.
The debottlenecking will enable Orion to increase its production capacity and produce beads in addition to powder. High-jetness carbon blacks deliver a deep black mass tone with a bluish undertone and are commonly used in automotive coatings.
“It’s challenging to push jetness above certain levels, and Orion is one of only a few carbon black producers that can do it,” said Markus Mahn, director of global marketing for coatings. “Demand was high last year and continues to be strong this year.”
Orion has plans to install a second post-treatment unit at its Cologne facility due to what the company says is rapidly growing demand for its premium grades.