Columbian is headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, USA. Marietta is also the location for the company’s state-of-the-art research and development centre. The company operates 11 carbon black plants and distribution centres in nine countries across four continents — North America, South America, Western and Eastern Europe, and Asia.

Columbian enjoys a dominant position globally, and is:

• Number one in Brazil; 36-per cent market share in South America.
• Number four in North America; 15-per cent market share.
• Number four in Europe-Africa-Middle East; 11-per cent market share.
• Number three in South Korea; 2-per cent market share in Asia.

Columbian offers one of the most complete portfolios of carbon black product lines in the market today, in two major market segments:

Rubber Carbon Black (RCB): This segment comprises tyres and Mechanical Rubber Goods (MRG). Columbian has an 8-per cent market share of the global tyre market. Products for the MRG market include industrial rubber products such as belts, hoses, tubing, gaskets, wiper blades, etc. Columbian has approximately 9-per cent share of the global MRG market.

Industrial Carbon Black (ICB): ICB is used in a large number of applications with a range of performance requirements. Columbian manufactures and sells a well recognised line of ICB, serving four segments: (i) plastics (ii) inks (iii) coatings, and (iv) miscellaneous.

Carbon black is a strategic and integral part of the Aditya Birla Group’s current operations and future growth plans. The Group has been in the carbon black business since 1978, with facilities located in India, China, Thailand and Egypt.

With the acquisition of Columbian, the Aditya Birla Group has become the world’s largest player in the carbon black sector.

For further information, go to www.columbianchemicals.com