Evonik Industries has announced an expansion of its specialty silica capacities in Ako, Japan through a holding in DSL Japan Co. Ltd. (DSL). Evonik holds 51% of shares in DSL, a joint venture with the Japanese Shionogi & Co. Ltd.
The expansion, with an investment volume in the single-digit million euro range, is scheduled to become operational in 2015. The specialty silicas of the Evonik Sipernat brand improve the properties of products such as batteries, silicones, engineered rubber items or coatings. Silicas of particularly high quality are used in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, for example in toothpastes or in beer filtration.
"We want to specifically supply this market segment and project higher than average market growth,” noted Johannes Ohmer, PhD, head of the inorganic materials business unit.
