What Notch Consulting does

Notch Consulting LLC is a privately held, founder-operated business intelligence and market research consultancy headquartered in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 2002 by Paul A. Ita, the firm specializes in supply, demand, pricing, capacity, and competitive analysis for the global specialty chemicals industry with a primary focus on raw materials used in the tire industry — including carbon black, precipitated silica, rubber processing chemicals (antioxidants, accelerators, antiscorch agents), and specialty additives such as insoluble sulfur, tackifiers, and adhesion promoters.

The company monetizes a portfolio of seven market research reports, delivered as PDFs with comprehensive Excel data tables, sold through direct e-commerce on its website. Its flagship product, the Carbon Black World Data Book, is published annually as a multi-user subscription at $8,900 and is self-described as the most widely read and most extensively quoted report on the $22B global carbon black industry. Other reports — covering specialty blacks, recovered carbon black (co-authored with Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin), silica, rubber antioxidants, rubber accelerators, and insoluble sulfur — are sold as perpetual multi-user licenses priced between $4,750 and $7,900.

Notch employs between 1 and 10 people, has no external investors, no subsidiaries, and no proprietary software platform. It supplements direct report sales with thought-leadership activity: a blog running continuously since November 2007, a monthly newsletter, and speaking presentations at industry conferences such as Carbon Black World, Tire Technology Expo, Recovered Carbon Black conferences, and Carbon Black China. The firm serves a global client base with documented market coverage in the USA, China, India, Germany, Brazil, and Thailand.

Name

Notch Consulting

Legal name

Notch Consulting LLC

Website

https://notchconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Notch Consulting is a privately held, founder-operated market research firm providing supply, demand, pricing, and competitive intelligence on tire-industry raw materials — including carbon black, silica, rubber chemicals, and insoluble sulfur — to global specialty chemicals clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chemical Industry Market Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Functional Carbon Fillers (Carbon Black, Graphite) (IMAEAFAO)

Keywords

• Chemical market research
• Carbon black reports
• Tire materials consulting
• Rubber chemicals analysis
• Silica market intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Amherst

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Market Research Reports: Notch Consulting generates revenue through the sale of customized and multi-client market research reports covering macro drivers, supply and demand, markets and applications, pricing, competitors and market share, production capacity and plant expansions, and competitive issues for the specialty chemicals industry with a primary focus on the tire industry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Notch Consulting is a market research consultancy that sells customized and multi-client business intelligence reports covering carbon black, precipitated silica, rubber processing chemicals (antioxidants, accelerators, antiscorch agents), insoluble sulfur, rubber tackifiers, and recovered carbon black. Its flagship publication is the annual Carbon Black World Data Book, the most widely read report on the $22B global carbon black industry. Reports are delivered as PDFs with comprehensive Excel spreadsheets and monthly price updates.

Product overview

Notch Consulting is a business intelligence and market research consultancy serving the global specialty chemicals industry with a primary focus on raw materials used in the tire industry. The company offers a portfolio of seven distinct market research reports: the flagship Carbon Black World Data Book (annual), World Specialty Blacks, Prospects for Recovered Carbon Black (joint publication with Wolfersdorff Consulting), Silica Market Update, World Markets for Rubber Antioxidants, World Markets for Rubber Accelerators, and World Markets for Insoluble Sulfur. Reports are delivered as PDFs with supporting Excel spreadsheets containing extensive data tables. The Carbon Black World Data Book is the most widely read report on the $22B global carbon black industry. Pricing ranges from $4,750 for individual reports to $8,900 for the comprehensive annual carbon black subscription.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carbon Black World Data Book: Annual market research report covering the global carbon black industry, including supply & demand, pricing, competitors & market share, and production capacity.
• World Specialty Blacks
• Prospects for Recovered Carbon Black
• Silica Market Update
• World Markets for Rubber Antioxidants
• World Markets for Rubber Accelerators
• World Markets for Insoluble Sulfur
• World Markets for Rubber Tackifiers

Products and services

• Carbon Black World Data Book (Annual Subscription) Annual flagship market research report on the global carbon black industry, delivered with a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet of all data, a mid-year Supply/Demand Update, and a monthly price report covering the US, EU, Brazil, and China. Sold as a multi-user corporate license for $8,900 per year.
• World Specialty Blacks Market research report covering the global specialty blacks market. Sold as a one-time multi-user corporate license for $7,900.
• Prospects for Recovered Carbon Black Joint report with Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin providing comprehensive overview of the global recovered carbon black market including demand forecast through 2030, supplier profiles, and pyrolysis technology analysis. Sold as a multi-user license for $7,500.
• Silica Market Update Market research report on the global precipitated silica industry. Sold as a multi-user license for $4,750.
• World Markets for Rubber Antioxidants Global market report for rubber antidegradants and antioxidants including 6PPD, IPPD, TMQ, diphenylamines, with demand by product, market, and region plus production capacity and supplier analysis. Sold as a multi-user license for $4,750.
• World Markets for Rubber Accelerators Global market report for rubber accelerators including sulfenamides (CBS, TBBS, DCBS, NOBS), thiazoles (MBT, MBTS), ultra accelerators, and DPG, with demand analysis and capacity data. Sold as a multi-user license for $4,750.
• World Markets for Insoluble Sulfur Detailed analysis of the global insoluble sulfur market covering demand by region, market, and grade, as well as pricing, production capacity, expansion projects, and annual sales by company. Sold as a multi-user license for $4,750.
• World Markets for Rubber Tackifiers Market research report providing detailed analysis of the global market for tackifiers used in the tire and rubber industry. Listed as one of Notch's product reports on the company website.
• Customized Market Research and Consulting Engagements Bespoke/customized market research engagements offered to clients who require tailored business intelligence beyond Notch's published multi-client reports, covering macro drivers, supply and demand, pricing, competitors and market share, production capacity, and competitive issues for tire industry raw materials.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• SmithersminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 June 2025Smithers hosts the Recovered Carbon Black webinar 'rCB Product Development in Practice' featuring Martin von Wolfersdorff of Wolfersdorff Consulting. Notch Consulting collaborates with Smithers on industry conference coverage.
• Wolfersdorff Consulting BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 February 2022Notch Consulting and Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin co-authored the report Prospects for Recovered Carbon Black 2022. The report is presented in two parts: rCB Market Outlook from Notch Consulting and rCB Technology & Company Profiles from Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Frost & Sullivan: Global growth consulting and market research firm with extensive coverage of chemicals, materials, and mobility. Competes for the same specialty chemicals and tire-related intelligence budget.
• ICIS (Independent Commodity Intelligence Services): Large commodity intelligence platform covering petrochemicals, including rubber and carbon black feedstocks. Overlaps with Notch's supply/demand and pricing reports but at broader scale and across many more commodities.
• Wood Mackenzie: Large research and consultancy covering chemicals, materials, and energy. Provides overlapping supply/demand and pricing analysis on petrochemical feedstocks relevant to carbon black and rubber chemicals buyers.
• S&P Global Commodity Insights: Major incumbent in petrochemical and specialty chemicals market intelligence. Competes for the same specialty chemicals and tire materials buyers with broader product coverage, dashboards, and enterprise data products.

Emerging players

• Grand View Research: Market research firm publishing syndicated reports across chemicals and materials, including carbon black and silica. Competes for specialty chemicals market intelligence budgets with a broader, more template-driven product.
• MarketsandMarkets: Global market research firm covering chemicals, materials, and industrial verticals. Publishes syndicated reports on carbon black, silica, and rubber chemicals that overlap with Notch's portfolio at broader scale.
• Mordor Intelligence: Global market research and consulting firm publishing reports on specialty chemicals, including carbon black and silica. Competes on report-style deliverables and pricing in adjacent chemical verticals.

Direct peers

• Smithers: Provider of market research, testing, and conferences for specialty chemicals, tire, and materials industries. Smithers hosts the Recovered Carbon Black webinar series featuring Notch's partner and serves the same tire-materials intelligence buyer.
• Wolfersdorff Consulting Berlin: Independent consultancy focused on recovered carbon black (rCB) and tire recycling technology. Co-author of Notch's 'Prospects for Recovered Carbon Black' report and the closest comparable in scope: a small, founder-led specialty chemicals consultancy serving the same buyer cohort.

Others

• Orion S.A. (Carbon Black Marketing Intelligence): Major carbon black producer whose published annual disclosures, capacity statements, and market commentary function as a public-information peer to Notch's private research output. Not a research firm itself, but a key data source within the same ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/notch-consulting-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Notch Consulting