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Closure of historic unit in Campana ends six decades of carbon black production, pressures direct and outsourced workers, and increases concern in the Argentine tire chain with supply, industrial costs, and greater dependence on imports.
Cabot Argentina confirmed in May 2026 the definitive closure of its industrial plant in Campana, in the province of Buenos Aires, ending an operation started in 1962 and affecting about 150 jobs, including both direct and outsourced employees.
At the unit, the company produced carbon black, a material primarily used in the manufacture of tires, rubber parts, plastics, and other industrial products, making the shutdown significant for different segments of the Argentine automotive chain.
The decision directly affected 90 factory employees and another 60 workers linked to services such as security, maintenance, cafeteria, and laundry, while the company began dismantling the structure installed on Larrabure Avenue in Campana, according to information released by Infobae.
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Closure of Cabot Argentina in Campana
With North American origins and headquarters in Boston, Cabot Corporation operates in the performance materials and specialty chemicals sector, an area that supported its industrial presence in the Zárate-Campana corridor for more than six decades.
Inaugurated on July 14, 1962, the Campana factory was the company’s first operation in Latin America, with an initial capacity of 12.7 thousand tons per year and a workforce of 83 employees.
Throughout its operation, the plant reached about 85 thousand tons of carbon black annually, supplying tire manufacturers, auto parts companies, and industries related to the rubber, plastic, and industrial applications markets.
This petrochemical derivative is used to reinforce rubber in tire production and also appears in other industrial processes, which is why the exit of the only local producer raised alarms in the Argentine sector.
Carbon black production and industrial impact
Within the production chain, the unit maintained integration with Argentine suppliers, including decanted oil from the YPF refinery in Ensenada and local natural gas, two relevant inputs for the factory’s operation.
In the years leading up to the closure, the plant had also advanced in self-supply electricity projects, an initiative aimed at reducing costs and increasing efficiency in an increasingly pressured industrial environment.
After the announcement, the Tobacco Workers’ Union mobilized at the factory gates and sought dialogue with the Ministry of Labor of the Buenos Aires province to discuss the effects of the decision.
A hearing in La Plata was scheduled to address the situation of the employees and the terms of the company’s exit, especially regarding compensations and legal procedures related to layoffs.
Rubber sector sees risk for the production chain
The Argentine Federation of the Rubber Industry expressed “deep concern” about the closure, assessing that the loss of a local supplier affects workers, manufacturers, and companies dependent on regular supply.
For the entity, each closure of a supplier plant represents a loss of technical knowledge, qualified employment, productive integration, and industrial autonomy, factors considered important for the continuity of the rubber chain in the country.
There was also a request for national, provincial, and municipal authorities to analyze the impact of the measure on the local supply of carbon black and on the production capacity of companies served by Cabot.
The closure occurs amid difficulties in the Argentine tire industry, pressured by a drop in production, an increase in imports, and a contraction in the domestic market, a scenario that reduces the demand for industrial inputs.
Crisis in the Argentine tire industry
In this environment of contraction, Cabot’s exit increases the risk of external dependence for a strategic input in the rubber chain, especially among manufacturers who previously relied on national production.
The sector’s crisis had already intensified with the closure of FATE, an Argentine tire manufacturer that shut down its Victoria plant in February 2026, amplifying the impact on suppliers linked to the automotive chain, as published by Ámbito.
With reduced activity in local factories, the demand for carbon black weakened and affected companies connected to the tire, rubber, and industrial components sectors, precisely areas that depended on the operation in Campana.
In the city, the shutdown also affects service providers, contractors, and small businesses operating around the factory, reinforcing the regional effect of the decision beyond direct and outsourced jobs.
Automotive chain may depend more on imports
On a global scale, Cabot Corporation reports operating with reinforcing carbons, conductive compounds, fumed metal oxides, and battery materials, in addition to maintaining about 4,100 employees and 39 industrial units worldwide, according to its investor relations page.
The closure in Campana, therefore, does not just represent the loss of an old factory, but the removal of an important piece of the Argentine industrial chain, with effects on production, suppliers, and company planning.
For tire and rubber manufacturers, the absence of local production may increase costs, expand dependence on imports, and reduce supply predictability in a sector already pressured by lower demand.
By leaving Campana, Cabot shows how the retraction of a segment can reach its own workers, outsourced workers, suppliers, and smaller companies that depended on the plant’s industrial routine.
Without local production of carbon black, what will be the next impact on the Argentine tire industry?
