Evonik Industries, a Germany-based specialty chemical company, is investing $120 million to build a production plant for precipitated silica in the U.S. to supply silica to tiremakers in the region.
The new Evonik plant will be built near Charleston, S.C., which is close to the production facilities for tiremakers such as Continental, Michelin, Bridgestone, Giti and Trelleborg.
“The proximity to the key customers in the tire industry was decisive in choosing South Carolina. We want to provide global tire manufacturers with the supply security and flexibility they expect from us in local production. That’s why we invest in sites that are close to our customers,” said Johannes Ohmer, member of the board of management of Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH.
The facility is expected to be finished in 2018.
