Growing demand for precipitated silica has prompted US coatings specialist PPG Industries to boost capacity at its plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, by more than 10,000 t/y.

The additional output will be achieved through debottlenecking projects that are already underway and expected to go online in the second half of 2016. Investment costs were not revealed.

The company is also increasing production at its Delfzijl, Netherlands plant, with the expansion on schedule to start up in mid-2016. The company said the capacity addition is designed in part to meet growing demand among global tire manufacturers for Agilon performance silica.

PPG is also evaluating additional silica expansion projects in Europe and North America.

In separate news, the company has held an official ceremony inaugurating the completion of a new facility in China for manufacturing and blending high-performance electrocoat (e-coat) coatings, said to offer high coating uniformity and efficiency as well as superior corrosion protection. The center in Zhangjiagang is its second e-coat blending operation in the country complementing another in Tianjin.

The new facility is designed to help PPG meeting growing demand for environmentally friendly coatings, such as waterborne e-coat products, from automotive manufacturers and industrial customers. “As a key production base for PPG, our Zhangjiagang site has capacity for expansion, reflecting our confidence in China’s sustainable growth,” said John Richter, PPG’s vice president of operations, coatings, Asia Pacific.