Evonik opened its expanded production for precipitated silica in Rayong, Thailand. With this investment, Evonik increased its capacity for precipitated silica for the automotive industry, food and animal feed industry as well as the paints and coatings industry.
“Expanding our manufacturing footprint in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand highlights our commitment to this region and allows us to better serve regional markets with state-of-the-art products and optimum solutions,” said Peter Meinshausen, regional president South East Asia, Australia & New Zealand.
“With this expansion, we are strengthening our operations in Thailand,” said Dr. Florian Kirschner, managing director and country head Thailand. “This allows us to respond more quickly to changes in market demand and supply high quality products to our customers.”
The silica production, now a joint venture between Evonik Industries and Oriental Siam Company, was founded in 1990. Evonik came on board as majority shareholder taking charge of operating this Map Ta Phut site in 1999.
Evonik also produces AEROSIL fumed silica and silica-based matting agents under the ACEMATT brand. These are used in tires with low rolling resistance as well as in the paints and coatings industry, as flow additives and carriers in food, cosmetics and drug production, or in manufacturing silicon applications, among others. Overall, Evonik has a global capacity of around 500,000 metric tons per annum for precipitated, fumed silica, and matting agents.