Evonik expands production of fumed silica

Source: China Chemical Industry News July 04, 2019

Recently, Evonik announced the successful expansion of its fumed silica plant in Antwerp, Belgium. By increasing production capacity, Evonik can better meet the high-end market demand for AEROSIL brand fumed silica. Evonik's investment in this expansion reached tens of millions of euros. Through expansion, Evonik's global silica series products have a total production capacity of approximately 1 million tons per year.

Through the joint production with the silane production plant, AEROSIL fumed silica and tire silane production materials have been guaranteed. In addition, as with the hydrophilic silica market, the market demand for hydrophobically treated specialty silica continues to grow. In order to meet market demand, this expansion also upgraded the production line of the Antwerp plant, making it Evonik's second hydrophobic silica production base in Europe.

Harald Schwager, vice chairman of Evonik’s executive board, said: \"Continuous growth is the strategic goal of Evonik’s silica business line. Through this expansion, we can provide customers with long-term supply guarantee.\" Evonik Resource Efficiency Management Board Member Andreas Fischer said: \"We are very pleased to provide more products, especially high-end hydrophobic products to meet customer needs. The raw materials for this expansion are provided by Evonik’s factory in Europe. This is crucial. The location of the Antwerp plant Close to the international terminal, the geographical position is superior, which also helps us to supply customers worldwide.\"

Silica is one of the four growth engines of Evonik. The growth rate of the company's \"engine\" business exceeds the market average. The global market growth of fumed silica is expected to exceed 4%, which is higher than the global economic growth rate.