GREAT LAKES FURTHER EXPANDS RANGE OF ANOX® CLEARLITE NUCLEATING AND CLARIFYING AGENTS

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (NYSE:GLK) today announced the expansion of its Anox® Clearlite nucleating and clarifying agent product range with the introduction of Anox Clearlite NU 011, designed for wide use in plastics.

Anox Clearlite NU 011 is a highly-effective nucleating and clarifying agent for semicrystalline polymers such as polypropylene (PP), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), polybutyleneterephthalate (PBT), and polyamide (PA), that decreases the polymer crystallization temperature by inducing and speeding crystal growth. Anox Clearlite NU 011 disperses easily in the polymer and, even at low concentrations, helps to improve the mechanical properties and clarity of the polymer.

“We expanded our services to the polymer industry in March 2004 by adding the Anox Clearlite nucleating and clarifying agents to our product range,” explained Maurizio Butti, executive vice president of polymer stabilizers. “Many of our customers were already using nucleating and clarifying agents with our polymer stabilizers, and we were also combining the additives in our non-dusting blends. It was a natural expansion for us to begin offering the nucleating and clarifying agents directly to our customers. Now our customers benefit from the quality, technical support, and dedicated supply that they have long enjoyed from Great Lakes.”

Great Lakes’ expertise in blending technology allows the company to incorporate ‘difficult to handle’ additives such as nucleating and clarifying agents into Anox NDB® (No Dust Blend) product forms that ensure accurate additive dosage into the polymer mix, reduced loss of product due to its non-powder form, and pre-dispersion of additives.

Anox Clearlite products launched by Great Lakes earlier this year include Anox Clearlite NU 004, a micronized, sodiumbenzoate-based product that increases the overall crystallization rate of semi-crystalline polymers like polypropylene, polyamide, and polyester, resulting in productivity gains and improved mechanical and physical properties, and Anox Clearlite NU 005, a sorbitol-based product that in addition to its nucleating function also acts as a clarifying agent, reducing haze and significantly increasing polymer transparency.

Through its Polymer Additives division, Great Lakes offers a full line of UV stabilizers and antioxidants, now complemented by nucleating agents and clarifiers, additive blends, and optical monomers, as well as a leading line of flame retardants that include bromine-, phosphorus-, and antimony-based flame retardants and other synergists. For more information about these product lines, please visit the Great Lakes Polymer Additives web site at www.pa.greatlakes.com

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