US specialty chemicals and performance materials company Cabot is investing an undisclosed sum in new capacity at its plant in Pepinster, Belgium. The project will enhance production capabilities for plastic formulations, specifically for conductive compounds and masterbatches used in engineering thermoplastic applications.

“We expect recent growth trends to continue, especially in automotive applications, given macro trends such as lightweighting and the need for our customers to innovate in ways that reduce overall costs, said Aaron Johnson, Cabot’s vice president for specialty compounds, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Americas.

The Boston, Massachusetts-headquartered company said the planned investment will also enable it to expand into additional (unspecified) applications. Cabot said it is the only globally integrated carbon black and black masterbatch producer. The company is the world’s second largest producer of carbon black in output terms, behind India’s Aditya Birla.