Huber Engineered Materials (HEM), a division of the J.M. Huber Corporation, announced plans to expand silica production capacity at its manufacturing facility in Jhagadia, India. The expansion more than doubles the current capacity to a new rate of 33,000 metric tons per year.

Huber's Jhagadia plant produces silica and silicate products for a variety of applications, including toothpaste, paints and coatings and paper. The new capacity is designed to meet the growing demand for each of these applications in India and the surrounding region. The project is expected to be completed by early 2012.

"We are very excited about this expansion and the opportunity to serve the growing needs of our customers," says Chuck Herak, Vice President and General Manager of Huber's Silica business unit. "With the successful start-up of our newest silica plant in Qingdao, China, we can now focus our expansion efforts on this new project in India."