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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 28, 2022
Orion Spotlights Upcoming Acetylene Conductive Additives Plant at 2022 Compounding World Expo North America
HOUSTON – At Compounding World Expo North America, global specialty chemicals company Orion Engineered Carbons (NYSE: OEC) is highlighting its upcoming acetylene-based conductive additives plant and the facility’s expected benefits to compounders.
Orion (Booth 516) also is showcasing conductive additives for wire-and-cable applications, injection-molded parts, adhesives and sealants, films and piping. Compounding World Expo North America takes place Nov. 9-10, 2022, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Orion announced in May it will build the first and only U.S. plant producing acetylene-based conductive additives – an important performance-enhancing component of high-voltage cables, lithium-ion batteries and other products driving the global move to electrification and renewable energy. Start-up at the facility in LaPorte, Texas, is expected in the second half of 2024.
“While the new acetylene-based conductive additives plant was spurred by increasing EV market demand for lithium-ion batteries, it will also benefit compounders for engineered plastics applications,” said Jennifer S. Stroh, Ph.D., director of specialties sales and marketing Americas for Orion. “For the first time, North American compounders will have a consistent, domestically produced and available supply of acetylene-based conductive additives.”
In addition to showcasing the new facility, Orion is highlighting its comprehensive portfolio of conductive additives, which improve performance by modifying rheology and imparting UV resistance and conductivity characteristics.
“We look forward to developing optimal solutions in collaboration with our customers across a wide range of industries,” added Kevin Milks, Orion marketing manager, Polymers and Batteries, “and helping meet the performance requirements specific to their individual applications.”
Marketed under PRINTEX, AROSPERSE and other brand names, these grades disperse readily in polyethylene and various elastomers and show very low levels of ionic contamination. In wire and-cable applications, they impart target conductivity to minimize dielectric stress between the conductor and cable insulation.
In injection-molded parts, the universally conductive PRINTEX® kappa 70 beads are specifically geared for compounds and end uses requiring conductivity and anti-static properties. Targeted for injection-molded plastics and such wire and cable applications as conductor shields, they excel in almost all conductive processes and products.
Orion’s sustainability strategy is based on developing solutions for customers as they adapt to three key mega-trends, one of which is electrification. (The others are decarbonization and the circular economy.) Committed to providing energy storage solutions, the company is actively undertaking partnerships to provide carbon black for additional shielding applications in the country’s growing fleet of electric cars.
For more information about OEC’s sustainability performance and initiatives, visit Orion Engineered Carbons – Sustainability – Sustainability Roadmap (orioncarbons.com).
About Orion Engineered Carbons
Orion Engineered Carbons (NYSE: OEC) is a leading global supplier of carbon black, a solid form of carbon produced as powder or pellets. The material is made to customers’ exacting specifications for tires, coatings, ink, batteries, plastics and numerous other specialty, high-performance applications. Carbon black is used to tint, colorize, provide reinforcement, conduct electricity, increase durability, and add UV protection. Orion has innovation centers on three continents and 14 plants worldwide, offering the most diverse variety of production processes in the industry. The company’s corporate lineage goes back more than 160 years to Germany, where it operates the world’s longest-running carbon black plant. Orion is a leading innovator, applying a deep understanding of customers’ needs to deliver sustainable solutions. For more information, please visit orioncarbons.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information, other than as required by applicable law.
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Team
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BIOGRAPHY
Jennifer S. Stroh, Ph.D.
Director of Sales and Marketing – Specialties Americas
Orion Engineered Carbons
Jennifer S. Stroh, Ph.D., is director of sales and marketing – Specialties Americas at Orion Engineered Carbons. She leads all marketing and sales activities for specialty carbon black throughout the Americas. She is also responsible for the overall direction and profitability of the business line.
Prior to assuming her current role in September 2021, Stroh was strategic marketing manager – Specialties Americas. She focused on business strategy, development, innovation and building relationships with customers aligned with Orion’s emphasis on mobility, economic development, connected consumers and climate change. Previously, she was global key account manager and marketing manager Coatings Americas, responsible for addressing customer needs, product pricing and monitoring market trends for specialty carbon black applications in the Americas.
Before joining Orion, Stroh served as technical service manager for TPC Group and global technical service leader at Sekisui Specialty Chemicals.
Stroh is a member of the American Chemical Society, Materials Research Society, National Textile Center, Fiber Society and the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and doctorate in materials science and engineering at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.
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BIOGRAPHY
Kevin Milks
Marketing Manager, Polymers and Batteries
Orion Engineered Carbons
Kevin Milks is marketing manager, polymers and batteries at Orion Engineered Carbons. In his new role he develops business and marketing strategies, identifies business opportunities and implements substantial, sustainable and profitable growth plans for Orion carbon blacks and conductive additives in the polymer and battery markets. Milks was previously an Orion sales manager for specialty carbon black in the Midwest, where he developed and implemented new regional sales strategies and led selected global key accounts.
Prior to joining Orion, Milks was sales director at Nordmann US, Jacksonville, Fla., leading the company’s acrylate and methacrylate distribution business. Before Nordmann US, he served in a variety of sales and technical positions with BASF, Red Spot Paint and Dolphin Company. He brings to Orion nearly 20 years of experience in industrial coatings.
Milks earned MBA and Master of Project Management degrees at Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University and a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Bluffton University.
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William Foreman
Director of Corporate Communications
and Government Affairs
Orion Engineered Carbons
Direct: +1 832-445-3305 • Mobile: +1 281-889-7833