Russian carbon black producer Omsk Carbon Group (OCG) is planning to start the first phase of its carbon black production plant in Mogilev, Belarus, this year in September. The EUR95 million plant is being launched two years late as a result of what Leonid Laskovets, General Director of the company says were “construction-specific difficulties in implementing this large-scale project.”
He added, “However, supported by the Belarusian authorities it has managed to get if off the ground and will launch the first production line in September.”
It will be the company’s third production site. Designed to produce both tread and carcass grades with the capacity of 160,000 tonnes/year, the plant will enable the company to become one of the top five producers of carbon black world-wide. The plant is expected to ramp up to its maximum capacity of 200,000 tonnes/year by 2020, with materials supplied to European and CIS markets.
Plans include delivering around a half of the products to Belshina JSC, a Belarusian automotive tyre manufacturer, with the remainder to be supplied to Poland, Sweden, Germany, Romania and Finland.
OCG’s investment in the plant totals more than RUB4.5 billion. The Russian company’s structure comprises operating production facilities in Omsk and Volgograd, the plant construction project in Belarus as well as logistical centres in Germany, Romania, Turkey and Canada. The company says it is creating an identifiable brand with a high value on the global market.