May 12-13, 2025
Fort Worth, Texas
Carbon Black World is the premier conference for the carbon black industry. Over 25 leading companies across the tire, rubber, ink and coatings industries joined us this year including Cabot, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Tokai Carbon and more!
We structured the content for the momentous 20th anniversary of this event to reflect the uncertainty and subsequent supply and demand issues facing the supply chain.
Jennifer Chittick is Senior Vice President, Safety, Health & Environment (SH&E) and Chief Sustainability Officer. In these roles, she is responsible for leading the overall development and implementation of comprehensive SH&E programs as well as the company’s sustainability strategy and reporting. Since joining Cabot in 2012, Jennifer has held a variety of roles within the SH&E organization, most recently as Vice President, SH&E. Prior to that, she was Product Safety and Toxicology Director as well as held several SH&E positions in North America. Before joining Cabot, Jennifer worked for BAE Systems. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and serves as Director of the International Carbon Black Association (ICBA). She earned a MS in Environmental Health from Tufts University and a BS in Industrial Hygiene from Clarkson University.
Josh Guilliams, Vice President of Consultancy, leads Smithers’ technical consulting team based in Akron, Ohio. Josh manages client relationships and works with other Smithers experts on complex projects. He also conducts in-depth investigations of a wide variety of rubber materials and final products on behalf of clients.
Before joining the team at Smithers, Guilliams spent several years in leadership at Polymer Valley Chemicals, Inc., as Technical Director and Vice President of Technical Operations. Prior to his time at Polymer Valley Chemicals, he held technical and commercial roles at Hankook Tire, EASTMAN Chemical Corporation, LANXESS Corporation, and Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations.
Bio to come!
Paul Ita runs Notch Consulting, a Massachusetts-based research company dedicated to the market research needs of the global specialty chemicals industry. Mr. Ita focuses on raw materials for the global tire and rubber industries, with a particular focus on carbon black, silica, and rubber chemicals. Through Notch, he publishes the Carbon Black World Data Book and the Carbon Black Quarterly Newsletter.
Dr. Raymond Soufiani graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2014 in Physical Chemistry with emphasis in surface science. He worked on several experimental and theoretical projects during his Ph.D. program and published two papers and presented at several conferences. Two
of the projects he has worked on are already commercialized. He is a member of ACS, ACS Rubber, and ASTM D24 committee for carbon black. He joined Continental Carbon after graduation and worked as quality supervisor and superintendent at the Ponca City production plant until he was transferred to the Houston Technology Center (HTC) in 2017 as a Sr. Scientist when he started his journey on rubber compounding and testing fields. Later in 2022, he started his current position as HTC Laboratory Manager, leading daily activities and R&D programs. He has worked on several project since he joined the HTC; his recent project which is the topic for this presentation is a surface treatment of a low hysteresis carbon black to produce a filler to improve tire tread performance properties. He has three issued patents and several patents under review or provisional status related to this project.
Matt currently serves as the Vice President of Hapman (https://hapman.com/), a leading manufacturer of bulk material handling equipment and systems, and maintains a PE in Mechanical Systems and Materials. Matt has previously held various engineering, production and sales leadership roles at Anheuser-Busch, John Deere, and TerraSource Global (Jeffrey Rader, Pennsylvania Crusher, Gundlach).
Josh Guilliams, Vice President of Consultancy, leads Smithers’ technical consulting team based in Akron, Ohio. Josh manages client relationships and works with other Smithers experts on complex projects. He also conducts in-depth investigations of a wide variety of rubber materials and final products on behalf of clients.
Before joining the team at Smithers, Guilliams spent several years in leadership at Polymer Valley Chemicals, Inc., as Technical Director and Vice President of Technical Operations. Prior to his time at Polymer Valley Chemicals, he held technical and commercial roles at Hankook Tire, EASTMAN Chemical Corporation, LANXESS Corporation, and Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations.
Paul Ita runs Notch Consulting, a Massachusetts-based research company dedicated to the market research needs of the global specialty chemicals industry. Mr. Ita focuses on raw materials for the global tire and rubber industries, with a particular focus on carbon black, silica, and rubber chemicals. Through Notch, he publishes the Carbon Black World Data Book and the Carbon Black Quarterly Newsletter.
Martin von Wolfersdorff, trading as "Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin”, is an expert advisor and business partner of Smithers specialising in sustainable carbon blacks. Martin works with Smithers on carbon black consulting projects, writes Smithers reports and is the founder and business partner of the recovered Carbon Black Conference. Martin's corporate assignments were in carbon black, plastic packaging, plastic masterbatch and titanium dioxide. Martin has a Dipl. Ing. (Univ.) degree in chemical engineering from the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany.
Shannon Higgins is Cabot Corporation’s North America Marketing and Account Manager for its Reinforcement Materials business. Shannon joined Cabot in 2014 and has served in a variety of commercial and marketing roles. She currently works with customers in the tire industry with a focus on improving product performance and sustainability to meet today’s market demands. She received her MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell University and has an undergrad degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Bucknell University.
With over three decades at Bridgestone Americas, Bill has extensive experience in both the technical and commercial aspects of the global tire business. Currently serving as the Executive Director of Sustainable Innovation & Circular Economy, Bill plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing the company's sustainable materials strategy, focusing on sustainable content, carbon intensity, certifications, and customer value … toward a fully circular and carbon-zero future in mobility.
Advanced laboratory skills and 14 years’ hands-on experience in organic, inorganic, and polymer synthesis and processing, formulation, structure and property characterization, and laboratory safety management. Deep knowledge of US, PCT, and Chinese patent law systems with the proof of a passing grade on the examination for registration to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office (potential to be an in-house patent agent).
ARVOS Group is a leading global industrial equipment and service provider. The group is active in both the new equipment and aftermarket service markets across its two divisions
• LJUNGSTRÖM for Air Preheaters and Gas-Gas Heaters primarily used in thermal power generation facilities and new products in Offshore wind and other diversification product areas
• SCHMIDTSCHE SCHACK for heat transfer applications in a wide range of petrochemical, chemical and metallurgical processes
Headquartered in Luxembourg, with the German holding company and the corporate offices in Heidelberg, ARVOS Group operates six global manufacturing facilities and has sales execution offices in Australia, China, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Japan, Poland and the USA. The ARVOS Group brands of LJUNGSTRÖM®, SCHMIDT’SCHE ® and SCHACK® are highly recognized for representing outstanding quality and performance. ARVOS Group, owned by funds advised by Triton, has more than 1,000 employees worldwide.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, with manufacturing units in three strategic locations—Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha—we have achieved complete integration in our operations, with a dedicated source of raw materials. Epsilon Carbon aims to be a global leader in the carbon black (CB) and coal tar (CT) derivatives industry.
We specialise in manufacturing both reinforcing grades and tread grades of hard carbon black, which find extensive applications across various sectors, including tyre treads and mechanical rubber goods. Our product range includes the 100, 200, and 300 series, which are reinforcing grades suitable for sidewalls and inner liners of automobile tyres, as well as other automobile components like sealing systems, hoses, and anti-vibration components. In addition, we offer semi-reinforcing or carcass grades, represented by the 500, 600, and 700 series, which are ideal for general rubber goods.
Our portfolio of coal tar derivatives serves key industries such as Aluminium, Graphite, Carbon Black, and Specialty Chemicals. We employ advanced manufacturing processes to ensure the delivery of high-quality products while prioritising sustainability.
Our company is led by a dedicated team of experienced industry professionals who combine their expertise to drive operational efficiency and address environmental and social concerns. As our first step towards becoming a global industry leader, we have recently commissioned a state-of-the-art 115,000 TPA backward integrated plant in Bellary. We are committed to further expansion and forward integration.