Evonik Industries is fully on track to expand its production capacities for tire silica. The company is responding to the tire industry’s growing demand for innovative silica used in the production of low rolling resistance tires. At the same time, the expansions make it possible to react quickly and reliably to increased regional demand for specialty products.

“Our strategic capacity expansion came in response to regional customer requirements, and it improves the supply security and local availability of tire silica and specialty products,” says Andreas Fischer, the head of the Silica Business Line at Evonik. Hark-Oluf Asbahr, head of marketing at Tire and Rubber Materials, confirms this for the current demand for specialty silicas such as ULTRASIL® 9100 GR and ULTRASIL® 5000 GR: “We are adapting our product range on site to shorten transport routes and to increase availability and supply security for the benefit of our customers.”

The new plant in Americana, Brazil, commissioned in July 2016, has already reached full capacity due to high regional demand. Commercial production is also underway in the plant in Charleston, USA, which was opened in October 2018. “The new silica production in the American ‘Tire Belt’ was received very well by regional customers,” Fischer reports.

Evonik produces the innovative silica ULTRASIL® 7800 GR for energy-saving SUV tires at its two new sites in Americana, Brazil and Charleston, USA as well as in Chester, USA. There is large demand for this groundbreaking product, which was launched last year.

The expansion of the production plant in Adapazari, Turkey will primarily serve customers in southeastern Europe and the Middle East. Designed to increase capacity by 40,000 tons, the construction project is on schedule and expected to be completed in late 2019.

In the years to come, Evonik will further strengthen its global leadership position as a provider of silica and offer products and solutions individually tailored to the tire industry.

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Evonik is a leading global manufacturer of silica. In addition to the fumed silica AEROSIL® and the precipitated silicas ULTRASIL®, SIPERNAT®, ZEODENT® and SPHERILEX®, Evonik also produces matting agents made from silica under the brand name ACEMATT® and other fumed metal oxides under the brand name AEROXIDE®. Overall, the company has global production capacities of approximately 1 million metric tons a year for all silica products.