Cabot to Close Hong Kong Facility, Move Masterbatch Production to Tianjin

December 19, 2011

Company moving all masterbatch production in China to new Tianjin facility

Move strengthens Cabot’s cost, technology position in Asia

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2011-- Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT) is closing its Hong Kong masterbatch plant on March 31, 2012, and moving the production to its new facility in Tianjin, company officials announced today.

Starting in April 2012, all of Cabot’s masterbatch product made in China will be produced in Tianjin.

Cabot’s Tianjin masterbatch plant, which opened in September 2011, has a current capacity of 45KMT, which is large enough to supply the current demand of the plastics industry in Asia, as well as its expected near-term future growth.

Cabot designed its Tianjin site to be the premier black masterbatch and carbon black manufacturing facility in Asia. The masterbatch and carbon black operations are fully integrated, which creates strong competitive advantages through integrated economics, increased scale, and world-class process technology.

“We want to be the supplier of choice in China’s plastics markets for masterbatch,” said Patrick Prevost, Cabot president and chief executive officer. “Our operations in Tianjin give us important competitive advantages. Moving all of our China masterbatch production to Tianjin maximizes these advantages. The move allows us to be closer to our customers, and to deliver high-quality, cost-competitive masterbatch, using the most advanced process technologies in the industry. We’re committed to helping our customers grow in China, and this action makes us a stronger supplier in this market.”

Cabot produces masterbatch products for a broad range of uses in the plastics industry, such as key infrastructure and automotive applications. Typical end products include plastic moldings, pipes, cable jacketing, film, and much more.

Cabot’s masterbatch is a performance material comprised of a polymer and carbon black mixture for use in a wide range of thermoplastic applications.

ABOUT CABOT CORPORATION

Cabot Corporation, headquartered in Boston, Mass., USA, is a global specialty chemical and performance materials company. Cabot’s major products are carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, aerogel, and cesium formate drilling fluids. The company’s website is: http://www.cabot-corp.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in the press release regarding Cabot's business that are not historical facts are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Source: Cabot Corporation

Cabot Corporation
Erica McLaughlin, 617-342-6090
Director, Investor Relations