A merchant PCC facility acquired
Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MTX) reports that it has purchased from the J.M. Huber Corporation of Edison, N.J. a facility in Hermalle-sous-Huy, Belgium,that manufactures precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). The facility, which will be operated by Speciality Minerals Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, has the capacity initially to produce approximately 60,000 tons of PCC per year. The purchase price was not disclosed.
"The acquisition of this merchant PCC plant in Belgium allows us to accelerate our European coating PCC program to take immediate advantage of the market opportunity there. We plan to modify the facility so that it is capable of producing our family of sophisticated Opacarb PCC products. These products are now used in high-quality publication and graphic art papers, "said Paul R. Saueracker, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Last May we announced that we would invest $27 million for the construction of a new 125,000 ton-per-year merchant facility in Germany for the production of coating grade PCC. This facility remains under construction and we expect it to be in operation in 2003. Both of these facilities are an integral part of our strategy to expand internationally and to penetrate the world-wide coated paper market where we see market demand for our coating grade products."
