Evonik has started up its newly expanded production facilities for specialty silicas at Ako, Japan. The investment will increase by half capacity at the site of DSL, the German chemical producer’s joint venture with Shionogi.

The plant produces specialty silicas under the brand names Sipernat and Carplex, products used in top-end food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals applications such as beer filtration, drug carriers in pharmaceuticals and flow aids in powdered foods and thickener for toothpastes.

DSL President Tadashi Kanai said the new lines will strategically enhance the company’s already strong market position.

One of the largest global manufacturers of silicas, Evonik is expanding output in major markets. Following expansion in Europe and Asia, it is now focusing on Brazil, where a new facility at Americana, Brazil is being billed as the first plant in South America for highly dispersible (HD) silica, a product used primarily in tires with low rolling resistance.

Earlier this year, the German group began initial planning of a new world-scale plant for precipitated silica in the US, penciled in for completion by the end of 2017. The project, which would be its largest investment in North America in the past five years, is still subject to board approval.

Evonik puts its worldwide production capacity for matting agents and for precipitated and fumed silicas at roughly 550,000 t/y.