Construction of Lucite International’s Alpha plants begin

20 Jul 2006 Southampton, UK

Lucite International has created a new organisation, Lucite International Singapore Private Limited (LISPL), dedicated to bringing the Company’s first patented Alpha technology plant on stream and into full commercial production by mid 2008. A highly experienced, Singapore-based leadership team is in place with Nick Cordingley as General Manager (previously Site Director at Lucite International, Rozenburg in Holland), Ming-Shuenn Ng as Commercial Manager and Heng Fong Dian as Financial Controller. David Wu will join as Plant Manager on 1 September 2006. The new LISPL team brings together both global and Asia-specific business and manufacturing experience.

Chairman of LISPL, Neil Sayers commented: “We are all delighted to see Alpha become a reality with the construction of our first new technology plant in Singapore. It has taken more than 10 years of dedicated team development work to get us where we are today. The Singapore plant is the first in a series of Alpha-based facilities, which will progress in scale and speed of installation as we go forward. And we are already well down the track with detailed plans for our second plant – Alpha 2, a significantly bigger operation that will have the capability of producing 250kte per annum. Alpha 2 is expected to be in full-scale production in 2011 with Alpha 3, 4 and possibly more beyond.”

Lucite International’s new technology plants will complement the Company’s existing facilities in China, the USA, Europe, Japan and Taiwan and will be key to the success of its strategy for global growth. Singapore was chosen as the location for the first Alpha plant because of the established and vibrant nature of its chemical industry, the availability of high quality and well-trained staff, proximity to the Asian market and the ongoing support of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

ENDS

Notes for Editors re ALPHA and Corporate Lucite International:

The novel, patented Alpha technology for producing MMA was developed by Lucite International over a 10-year period at its research centre in Wilton in the UK. Alpha offers economic and environmental benefits over existing manufacturing routes and utilises novel catalyst systems also developed by Lucite International. Alpha will liberate the MMA industry from its historical dependence on the raw materials acetone, HCN and isobutylene, which are by products from other ‘primary’ processes. Alpha uses ethylene, methanol and carbon monoxide, which are all readily available and will not limit Alpha’s unique scale potential.

Lucite International is a global manufacturer and marketer of Methacrylates, the main building block of acrylic, which it either sells direct as monomer or transforms into acrylic-based products that it makes under three further product groupings: specialities, resins, polymer, sheet and composite materials. Customers convert these into a diverse range of consumer, architectural, high-tech and medical products. Lucite International is the world’s leading supplier of Methyl Methacrylate, with around 25% of the world market by volume and the capacity to produce 1.9 billion Ibs (850kte) per annum of acrylic products. The Company has an annual turnover in excess of US$1 billion and employs a workforce of 2000 people serving customers in more than 100 countries worldwide.

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