Evonik Industries has announced an expansion of its specialty silica capacities in Ako, Japan through a holding in DSL Japan Co. Ltd. (DSL). Evonik holds 51 percent of shares in DSL, a joint venture with the Japanese Shionogi & Co. Ltd. The expansion, with an investment volume in the single-digit million euro range, is scheduled to become operational in 2015. The specialty silicas of the Evonik SIPERNAT® brand improve the properties of products such as batteries, silicones, engineered rubber items, or coatings. Silicas of particularly high quality are used in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, for example in toothpastes or in beer filtration.
"This capacity expansion in Japan will continue to strengthen the specialty character of our silica business. We are one of the leading global providers of highly developed inorganic materials for resource-efficient applications, and we accompany this attractive growth market with targeted investments," said Patrik Wohlhauser, Member of the Evonik Industries Executive Board and Chief Operating Officer.
"Our focus is on close customer relationships and intensive technical cooperation. We provide our customers with high-level technological products in outstanding quality," commented Dr. Johannes Ohmer, Head of the Inorganic Materials Business Unit. Customers in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry have particularly high demands for product quality, in part based on legal mandates. "We want to specifically supply this market segment and project higher than average market growth," Ohmer noted.
Global expansion of silica capacities is making good progress
Evonik is expanding its silica capacities all over the world–in 2014 alone they are projected to have grown by approx. 30 percent compared to 2010. A plant expansion for precipitated silicas is to become operational in Chester, USA this year. Furthermore, the Group just approved the construction of a silica plant in Brazil, which is to start up in 2016. The expansion in North and South America follows the expansions in Europe and Asia, which have already been completed. Thus, a larger production facility became operational in Thailand in March 2014.
