CABOT CORP

Cabot Corporation was founded by Godfrey Lowell Cabot in 1882 when he applied for a patent for a "carbon black making apparatus". [ citation needed ] The company incorporated in the state of Delaware in 1960. In 1993, a team of Cabot researchers developed a process for modifying the surface of carbon, allowing chemists and researchers to prepare surface modified carbon black products with properties never before associated with carbon materials. [ better source needed ] This breakthrough led to the development of new technologies and products including aqueous inkjet colorants, for printer ink the basis of Cabot's Inkjet Colorants business unit, which was founded in 1996.

In 2003, Cabot developed a commercialized process that allows continuous production of aerogels under ambient conditions, which was the start of the company’s Aerogel business. In 2009, Cabot completed construction of and began operating two additional rubber black production plants at its carbon black plant in Tianjin, China, increasing capacity to 150,000 metric tons. In July 2012, Cabot purchased Norit NV, the largest producer of activated carbon, for US$1.1 billion.

Cabot sold its Supermetals business, which produced tantalum, niobium, and related alloys, in 2011 to Australia-based Global Advanced Metals for $400 million.