Intro:

Tokai Carbon has begun trial production at its newly constructed carbon black facility in Thailand, marking a milestone in its regional expansion strategy. The company has initiated partial operations as it ramps toward full capacity. 

Plant Details & Strategic Significance

The new Thai plant is undergoing phased start-up, with initial runs focusing on carbon black output trials to stabilize process performance. 

This timing coincides with Tokai’s acquisition of Bridgestone’s carbon black business in Thailand, positioning the company to deepen its footprint in Southeast Asia’s carbon black market. 

By starting production early, Tokai aims to validate process systems, train operations, and begin fulfilling regional demand ahead of full-capacity commissioning.

Tokai Carbon has begun trial production of carbon black at its new facility in Thailand. Trial runs began at “a portion” of the plant in June, Tokai said in a Sept. 24 shareholders’ briefing.

For now, the existing and new facilities will operate in parallel, but the group plans to relocate all production to the new site in “the latter half of 2026.”

Tokai began construction work on the $285 million plant in 2023, with production originally scheduled for April 2025.

Once completed, Tokai will relocate its entire operations from its existing 180,000 metric ton per year plant in Sriracha to the new facility, located at the LK Rubber industrial city hub.

Tokai has been operational in Thailand since 1989 and manufactures carbon black for tire and rubber reinforcement.

According to the group, the Thai unit, Thai Tokai Carbon Product Co. (TCP), has “the greatest production capacity of any single factory” in the group.

Tokai expects carbon black demand in Thailand to “enjoy strong growth” on the back of the country’s tire and automotive sectors.

“To ensure long-term stability, and to establish a more sustainable supply structure for TCP, we are relocating our existing plant from a leased site to a Tokai Carbon-owned site,” the group said.

The new facility is aimed at “capturing growth opportunities,” particularly in higher value-added grades, through “cutting-edge equipment.” For example, Tokai said it is boosting production of low-grit carbon black for SUV off-road tires and large truck and bus tires.

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