Evonik begins construction on US silica plant

Last week, Evonik Industries announced the location of its new precipitated silica plant in the United States. The $120M factory will be located in the Bushy Park industrial area near Charleston, South Carolina. Construction on the plant is expected to begin this month with completion by mid-2018. The company has not released the new plant’s capacity, but output will focus on highly dispersible grades of silica for use in passenger car tires, which can reduce rolling resistance and improve fuel economy. Here is the press release announcing the plant location. The company held a ground-breaking ceremony at the site last week.