Credit: Shutterstock photoChemical maker AlbemarleALB has started the commissioning activities related to its new lithium carbonate production plant in Chile. The state-of-the-art plant is based at the company's La Negra site in northern Chile.
Albemarle has spent roughly $200 million on the facility to make sure that it enables the company to meet the fast-growing customer demand for lithium, especially high purity lithium compounds needed for making lithium-ion batteries. The plant will provide a reliable supply of high quality products, maintaining Albemarle's position as a global leader in lithium production.
The plant is slated start commercial production of lithium carbonate during third-quarter 2015. Albemarle plans to beef up production from the new capacity starting early 2016. Initial production from the plant will be sold into technical applications. The facility will eventually produce 20,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually.
Albemarle has realigned its global business units following the closure of its $6.2 billion acquisition of Rockwood Holdings. The move aligns the company's strategic assets and businesses to be market focused and enables it to more effectively leverage its resources on innovation and growth.
The new business structure is comprised of three global business units - Chemetall Surface Treatment, Refining Solutions and Performance Chemicals. Each business unit has a dedicated team of sales, R&D, process engineering, manufacturing and sourcing, and business strategy personnel.
The new structure will help Albemarle achieve its strategic objectives of growing faster, performing at even higher levels and speed up the recognition and achievement of synergies beyond the identified cost synergies. It will also help the company to leverage its long-term lithium strategy.
Albemarle is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other stocks in the chemicals space worth considering include LyondellBasell Industries N.V. LYB , Orion Engineered Carbons SA OEC and Stepan Company SCL with all carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
ALBEMARLE CORP (ALB): Free Stock Analysis Report
LYONDELLBASEL-A (LYB): Free Stock Analysis Report
ORION ENGINRD (OEC): Free Stock Analysis Report
STEPAN CO (SCL): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
