SGL Group Restructures Carbon Fiber Business

Germany: SGL Group, a well-established manufacturer of carbon-based products, reached a conclusion to consolidate its fiber production within two of the company’s major carbon fiber production sites namely, Moses Lake and Muir of Ord located at Washington, USA and Scotland, UK, respectively. The production lines in Muir of Ord have been strengthened and upgraded to produce 24,000 carbon fibers, which were earlier being produced solely in Evanston, Wyoming, USA. The company also came with the intention to sell off the Evanston manufacturing facility, including approximately 50 employees, to Mitsubishi Rayon Carbon Fibers & Composites Inc., hence beefing up the presence solely in North America and Europe.

Techsci Research depicts that the concentration of carbon fiber production sites at Moses Lake and Muir of Ord would bolster the company’s production network thereby offering high quality composite materials and components to the consumers. In addition, the facilities would cater the growing demands coming from automotive, wind energy and aerospace industries, thus, aggrandazing the company’s foothold across the globe.

According to the recently published report by TechSci Research, “Global Carbon Black Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2020”, global carbon black market is expected surpass USD25 billion by 2020, driven by rising demand from tyre industry, in addition to construction and manufacturing sectors which use carbon black to provide strength to industrial rubber compounds and other equipment. Global carbon black market is highly competitive, with all major players investing heavily in R&D to improve the quality of their product. The three largest players in the market are Birla Carbon, Cabot Corporation and Orion Engineered Carbons. Region-wise, the market is dominated by Asia-Pacific, wherein majority of the demand emanates from emerging economies such as China and India, on account of expanding tyre manufacturing facilities and growth in construction sector. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to maintain its dominance in the market through 2020, with tyre manufacturers shifting production base to developing countries in the region.