Continue to lead the Chinese special charcoal market

Recently, Cabot released its 2022 financial results report
.
Zhu Ji, Executive Vice President, President of Global Performance Materials and President of Cabot's Asia Pacific business, said that Cabot's revenue in Asia Pacific exceeded US$1.
57 billion, ranking first in the three major regions in the world, and achieved strong growth
。 In the current global economic environment, Cabot, as the world's leading specialty chemicals and high-performance materials company, can still create outstanding results, in addition to its accurate grasp of market prospects, continuous investment in scientific and technological innovation, and unremitting pursuit of sustainable development, but also thanks to several "major events" experienced by Cabot in 2022, especially the official production
of Cabot High Performance Materials (Xuzhou) Co.
, Ltd.
(hereinafter referred to as Cabot Xuzhou Factory).
This is Cabot's fourth carbon black production base in China and its first wholly-owned company
in China.

At present, Cabot Xuzhou plant has been put into operation for half a year, adding 50,000 tons of special carbon black production capacity to the company every year, and becoming the largest manufacturer
of special carbon black products in China.
Yu Zhaohua, General Manager of Cabot Xuzhou Plant, said: "Both production lines were successfully put into operation at one time, which fully reflects Cabot's excellent operational experience
in technology, personnel, process management and safety management.
At present, the two production lines are operating at full capacity, and the investment in technology, capital and talent reserves during the project period guarantees benchmarking in terms of environmental protection, safety and sustainability, as well as the feasibility
of efficient productivity, stable product quality and new product development.
"The products produced by Cabot Xuzhou factory are used in chemical fiber, new energy batteries, automobiles, home appliances, power cables, industrial sealants and other industries, and the rich product line meets the high-quality demand
of domestic customers for special carbon black.
Customer recognition also strengthens Cabot's leadership position in the Chinese market
.

Based on the concept of operational excellence and sustainable development, Cabot Xuzhou plant has won many awards since it was put into operation for half a year, not only won the Cabot Group President's Club Award issued by the headquarters, but also won the titles of "Jiangsu Province Key Industry Performance Grading Evaluation A-level Enterprise", "Xuzhou Safety Production Demonstration Enterprise" and "Pizhou Safety Training Base", which was highly recognized
by the local government.

Further strengthen market leadership

"Specialty carbon black is a very diverse material that imparts a range of functions in applications, including coloration, electrical conductivity and antistatic, UV weather resistance, reinforcement and rheological control
," said Shengli Wu, Market Manager for Cabot's Specialty Carbon Black business and Global Fiber Business Marketing Manager, Cabot Asia Pacific.
Compared with ordinary carbon black, special carbon black is also very different in product indicators and is more widely used in the market
.
Based on this, in recent years, the demand for specialty carbon black in various industries, including automotive and textiles, has continued to grow
.
To support the growing demand for specialty carbon black solutions in China and globally, Cabot Xuzhou will provide a reliable supply
.

Yu Zhaohua said: "The commissioning of Cabot's Xuzhou plant further strengthens Cabot's leadership in the field of specialty carbon black, especially in
high-end environmentally friendly materials such as chemical fiber, new energy batteries and automobiles.
The operation of Cabot Xuzhou plant has greatly changed the long-term dependence on imports of high-end specialty carbon black, and provided a more extensive, convenient and rapid product supply mechanism
for customers in China and even the Asia-Pacific market.
At the same time, the full commissioning of Cabot's Xuzhou plant has also released the production capacity of Tianjin Cabot production line in conductive carbon black, further enhancing Cabot's leading position
in high-performance batteries, 5G, printed circuits, anti-static packaging and conductive shielding markets.
”

Last year, despite the pandemic, Cabot's spinning-grade carbon black business grew by 50%.

This is not only due to China being the world's largest producer and consumer of chemical fiber, but also to Cabot's early layout and mature supply system
in production, research and development, sales and services.
Yu Zhaohua introduced that Cabot is the first carbon black enterprise to intervene in the coloring application of chemical fiber stock solution, and it is also the only multinational enterprise
that can produce spinning-grade carbon black in China.
Cabot now accounts for 25% of global sales in Chinese mainland, surpassing North
America.
With the gradual release of production capacity at Cabot's Xuzhou plant, the supply capacity to the market will be further strengthened, and its position in the Chinese market will be further strengthened, and customers in China and around the world will further benefit from this
.

Fully meet the high quality needs of customers

Yu Zhaohua said: "The Xuzhou factory has two production lines, which will provide customers in China and even the Asia-Pacific market with a more extensive, convenient and rapid product supply mechanism
.
At the same time, the new factory is in Xuzhou, and the geographical advantage is prominent, which can meet the needs of
chemical fiber enterprises in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
"Since the start of production, the products of Cabot Xuzhou factory have been recognized and supported
by many domestic and foreign customers in the market promotion.
It is precisely with the well-known quality and perfect production control that the products of Cabot Xuzhou plant not only fully meet the high-quality needs of Chinese customers for special carbon black, but also have been recognized
by international customers.

Sun Xia, general manager of Zhejiang Jincai New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
, said: "The product quality of Cabot Xuzhou factory is quite stable
.
We have been working with Cabot for many years and recognize the quality management
of Cabot products.
We were the first customer
to purchase products from Cabot's Xuzhou plant.
So far, we have found that the quality of the product is as excellent as ever, and it is very well used in the chemical fiber textile industry, and it is very stable
in high-speed spinning and fine denier yarn.
From April 2022 to now, we have not had any quality accidents
.
In addition, Cabot's Xuzhou factory is very close
to our Zhejiang factory.
This provides a lot of convenience
for supply stability, flexibility, and inventory management.
”

Liu Xiangling, purchasing director of Hubei Huitian New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
, said: "In September 2022, I led a team to visit Cabot Xuzhou factory
.
Because carbon black is one of the important raw materials for automotive windshield structural adhesives, our team has conducted a professional and meticulous evaluation and audit
.
The overall production control of Cabot Xuzhou plant is very good, the quality system is perfect, and the quality of employees is also very high
.
Through a comprehensive evaluation, we finally identified Cabot Xuzhou plant as one of Huitian's
supply bases.
”

Cabot Xuzhou plant also supplies high-quality products to other Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, India, etc
.
International customers also highly recognize the quality of the Xuzhou plant, and are very satisfied
with Cabot's management and service in the Asia Pacific region.
Yu Zhaohua said that Cabot Xuzhou plant has optimized Cabot Specialty Carbon Black production network to better provide reliable local supply to Chinese customers, supporting the development of the Yangtze River Delta region while fully meeting the growing demand
of international customers for specialty carbon black product solutions.
"It can be said that the commissioning of the Xuzhou plant rebalances our global production network to be able to allocate more capacity in other regions of the region to meet the rapidly growing demand
of the battery materials market.
We offer a portfolio that is more in line with market and customer requirements and more flexible packaging formats
.
Yu Zhaohua said
.

We are optimistic about the long-term development of the Chinese market

At present, the development of multinational enterprises in the Chinese market has undergone new changes
.
Cabot's series of deployments in the Chinese market shows that Cabot is still fulfilling its commitment
to inject into the Chinese market.

At present, the Chinese market has become the most important part
of Cabot's global system.
Jixiao Jia, Vice President of Performance Materials Business in Asia Pacific, said: "Cabot is optimistic about the long-term development of China's economy, and we are full of confidence in the application market prospects of specialty chemicals and performance materials in chemical and other industries, and we are firmly confident
in our development in China.
In the Chinese market, most of the special carbon black products previously relied on imports, so we actively promote localized production to ensure the stable supply of products in China and actively provide more convenient services
for Chinese customers.
With nearly 35 years in China, Cabot has accumulated extensive experience in highly localized operations, including local team management, Shanghai Asia-Pacific headquarters and Asia-Pacific technology center
.
”

Cabot's products follow market trends, and can even be said to lead the market
.
They actively contribute to the development of the domestic carbon black industry
.
Zhu said: "We actively participate in the industrial adjustment and upgrading
of the domestic carbon black industry.
At present, the market demand for high-performance materials such as special carbon black and fumed silica is strong
.
In the Chinese market, we will continue to strive to remain the industry
leader.
This includes not only production capacity, but also software support, including application research and development
.
We will also continue to strengthen our battery materials business expansion
.
”

Cabot Performance Chemicals increased EBIT by $4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, primarily due to higher margins and higher
volumes.
Looking ahead to 2023, Cabot expects the global macroeconomic environment to remain challenging, but the company remains confident
that it remains strong.
Cabot's global scale, geographic presence and operational excellence will continue to be a strong advantage
for the company to grow its business.
Cabot is committed to its corporate strategy of "Creating Tomorrow" and is well positioned to create exceptional value
.

(This concludes the series)