By Charles Lefebvre

Cancarb to begin expansion in July

May 16, 2019 | 4:27 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Cancarb is in the midst of preparing its facility for it’s first major expansion in 19 years.

Back in December, Tokai Carbon, Cancarb’s parent company, announced plans for a $40.1 million expansion to add another unit capable of producing carbon black, a product used in rubber items, such as tires. The expansion would increase the production capacity of the Medicine Hat plant to 54,000 tonnes per year.

Ross Buccholz, vice-president of quality and development with Cancarb, says they’re getting close to starting the expansion.

“We’re going through all of the detailed engineering design, we’re just getting towards the end of that,” he said. “Bid packages are being put out. We expect there will be pilings in the ground sometime within July.”

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In addition to work at the plant, Cancarb also recently purchased the former Landmark Feeds building and are in the process of tearing down the building. The land will be used to extend the buffer zone for Cancarb.

“It’s mainly just to be good neighbours,” said Buccholz. “For noise at industrial sites, and that sort of thing, you want to have a space around you so don’t want to disrupt anyone

Buccholz says they expect between 70 and 80 workers on the site during peak time in July.

“That will be the start,” he said. “After that, it will be the vessels coming in and the above ground infrastructure. We hope to have most of that in place through the fall so we don’t have to be doing it through the cold of winter.”

The expansion is expected to be finished by July of 2020.