The investment boosted the plant's carbon black capacity 50% to about 100,000 tons a year, Dobos said. Demand for the product has grown, especially since tire makers have set up production bases in Hungary and elsewhere in the region, he added.

Most of the plant's carbon black goes to tire makers, and the rest goes to the plastics and paint industries.

Coumbian Tiszai Carbon and its parent company covered most of the cost of the investment, but the unit was also awarded a Ft 400 million EU grant for the project. (MTI – Econews)