Rhodia Polyamide Announces Price Increases for Polyamide 6 and 66 Resins and Compounds

Rhodia Engineering PlasticsSt. Fons, France, March 22, 2004 – Rhodia Polyamide announced price increases of € 130 per metric ton for PA 66 base resins in Europe. At the same time, prices of Rhodia’s Technyl® polyamide 6 and 66 compounds will be increased by € 200 per metric ton in that region. These increases are effective as of March 29th, 2004.

MILLIKEN CHEMICAL AND REXAM CO-OPERATE ON INNOVATIVE SEE-THROUGH COLOURED PILL JAR DEVELOPMENT

Milliken Chemical and Rexam co-operate on innovative see-through coloured pill jar development. Gent, Belgium – Milliken Chemical, the global leader in clarifying and colouring agents for polypropylene (PP), and Rexam Pharma, have co-operated in an exciting development with the potential to bring new aesthetics and functionality to pill jars for over-the-counter (OTC), non-prescription drugs.

New Product Introductions GE Advanced Materials

GE PlasticsPress Kit VDI Mannheim Germany

GREAT LAKES INCREASES FLAME RETARDANT PRICES

Great LakesINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA—Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (NYSE:GLK) today announced it would increase prices worldwide by an average of 15 percent for phosphate ester flame retardants and 10 percent for a range of brominated flame retardants, effective for shipments after April 15, 2004, or as contracts allow. These price increases are in addition to the 7 percent increase for phosphate ester flame retardants that took effect March 1, 2004, and brominated flame retardant price increases that were announced previously.

GREAT LAKES AND OXYCHEM FORM ANTIMONY OXIDE JOINT VENTURE

Great LakesINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA—Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (NYSE:GLK) and Laurel Industries, Inc., a part of the chemicals operations (“OxyChem”) of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, will combine their antimony businesses as part of a joint venture to develop, produce, and market antimony-based flame retardants, synergists, and catalysts, the companies announced today.

AZDEL SUPERLITE® COMPOSITE REDUCES WEIGHT AND ENHANCES PERFORMANCE IN AUTOMOTIVE INTERIORS

Lear Coporation has chosen GE Plastics’ Azdel® SuperLite composite for a new automotive interior integration program, which will be featured on the 2004 Ford GT performance vehicle. With high demand for improved weight reduction in the automotive business, Azdel SuperLite composite can provide estimated 30 percent weight saving per vehicle than conventional injection molded substrates. BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands — Feb. 2, 2004 — Already achieving successes in automotive interior programs, which include headliner, sunshade, and parcel shelf applications in the U.S., Australia, and China, AZDEL SUPERLITE® composite is now being trialed by automotive OEMs in Europe.

AZDEL SUPERLITE® COMPOSITE GIVES SIGNIFICANT COST AND WEIGHT SAVINGS IN LOW VOLUME AUTOMOTIVE BONNETS/HOODS

As the result of a joint development, GE Advanced Materials’ AZDEL SUPERLITE® composite will be used by BI Composites Plc, a major UK automotive molder, to replace the steel in the bonnet/hood of a high-powered sports vehicle to be launched by a leading international carmaker in early 2004. In high-speed, offset front-impact tests, the bonnets exhibited less damage than that sustained by similar steel panels tested under the same procedure. The bonnets’ adhesive bonding also remained intact throughout impact testing. BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands — Feb. 2, 2004 — As the result of a joint development, GE Advanced Materials’ AZDEL SUPERLITE® composite will be used by BI Composites, a major UK automotive molder, to replace the steel in the bonnet/hood of a high-powered sports vehicle to be launched by a leading international carmaker in early 2004.

GE’S ADVANCE INTO ELECTRONICS IS FUELED FURTHER BY LAUNCH OF ILLUMINEX™ DIFFUSER FILMS FOR OPTICAL DISPLAYS

ILLUMINEX™ optical display films, made from GE Advanced Materials’ LEXAN® polycarbonate resin, are now available to meet growing worldwide demand for diffuser films in LCD applications ranging from television screens, personal digital assistants (PDAs), desktop computer monitors, and Note PCs to GPS navigation units, cell phones, and automobile LCDs to cameras, and portable DVDs. These new products feature excellent optical properties that are built into the film formulation and/or molded into the film surface to deliver unprecedented levels of cost-effective quality and performance.  BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands — Feb. 2, 2004 — To help meet growing worldwide demand for diffuser films, GE Advanced Materials, a division of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), introduced today a new global line of optical display films made from LEXAN® polycarbonate (PC) resin. Called LEXAN® ILLUMINEX™ diffuser films, the products feature excellent optical properties that are built into the film formulation and/or molded into the film surface to deliver unprecedented levels of cost-effective quality and performance. Potential target applications include television screens, personal digital assistants (PDAs), desktop computer monitors, Note PCs, GPS navigation units, cell phones, automobile LCDs, cameras, and portable DVDs.