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Solvay announces plans to build a specialty surfactant plant in Germany to serve its customers in Central and Eastern Europe

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Brussels, April 12, 2013 – Solvay announces today that it will build a specialty surfactant plant at an industrial park in Genthin, Germany, close to Berlin. The unit will develop and produce surfactant solutions for Solvay’s home & personal care and industrial customers serving Central and Eastern Europe.

This investment advances the successful execution of our growth strategy, expanding production and development capabilities close to our markets and customers,” said Emmanuel Butstraen, President of Solvay Novecare. “In addition to strengthening our presence in the region, siting our investments in established manufacturing zones enables us to competitively scale up production.”

The plant will produce specialty surfactants that aid in the delivery of functional performance attributes such as cleansing, dispersal, moisturizing and texturizing qualities. The unit is scheduled to be operational by the first quarter of 2014 and initial operations will add more than 30 new jobs to the existing industrial platform in Genthin.

This announcement follows several recent strategic investments by Solvay Novecare, including the completion in January of two major production expansions at its derivatized guar facilities in North America and Asia. With production set to start next year, Solvay is uniquely positioned to serve the dynamic Central and Eastern European market as well as its many customers around the world.

SOLVAY NOVECARE is a worldwide leader in specialty surfactants and a major player in polymers, amines, guar, and phosphorus derivatives. Solvay Novecare engineers and develops formulations that provide consumer products and state-of-the-art industrial applications with specific functional qualities designed to modify fluid behavior and deliver cleansing, dispersal, gelling, moisturizing, penetrating, softening or texturizing properties. These formulations are used in shampoos, detergents, paints and lubricants as well as in crop protection, mining and energy production and stimulation. Novecare, which boasts a worldwide network of 25 manufacturing sites and seven R&D centers, has become the preferred partner of its customers in rapidly growing economies and leverages an innovation platform based on sustainable solutions.

As an international chemical group, SOLVAY assists industry in finding and implementing ever more responsible and value-creating solutions. The Group is firmly committed to sustainable development and focused on innovation and operational excellence. Solvay serves diversified markets, generating 90% of its turnover in activities where it is one of the top three worldwide. The group is headquartered in Brussels, employs about 29,000 people in 55 countries and generated 12.4 billion euros in net sales in 2012. Solvay SA SOLB.BE) is listed on NYSE Euronext in Brussels and Paris (Bloomberg: SOLB.BB - Reuters: SOLBt.BR).


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