Evonik lays foundation stone for new chemical plant in Marl

Evonik Industries laid the foundation stone for a new, large plant
to produce functionalized polybutadienes in Marl, Germany. The
plant, with an annual capacity of several thousand metric tons, is
scheduled for completion in the middle of 2013. The specialty
chemicals company's investment in its largest production site
worldwide is in the mid double-digit million € range and will create
15 new jobs. Functionalized polybutadienes, which Evonik plans to
market under the name POLYVEST® HT, are used mainly in sealing
compounds for insulated glass windows and for adhesives used in
the automotive and electronics industries, for example.

Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries
said, “Today, we are laying the foundation stone for a business
with outstanding prospects for the future – it is innovative and
contributes towards the strong-growth megatrend of resource
efficiency. By choosing the production site in the heart of the Ruhr
region we are once again demonstrating that industrial production
in Germany under competitive conditions is still possible.”

And Garrelt Duin, Minister for Economics in the German state of
North Rhine-Westphalia, emphasized, “Our state’s economic policy
aims at providing industrial companies such as Evonik with an
attractive environment for investment. The chemical industry in
particular is a key sector in our state.”

The new plant can make optimum use of the existing infrastructure
and raw materials supplies and utilize synergies with the current
polybutadiene plants in Marl Chemical Park. Evonik is a leading
supplier of polybutadienes and has enormous experience,
outstanding technological competence, and strong bonds with its
customers in this area.

Klaus Engel underlined that “as one of the world's biggest specialty
chemical companies, we back Germany as an industrial location
and, with our long-term investments, we are securing our
industrial basis here.” In the first half of 2012 alone, Evonik spent
€208 million of its total €391 million investments in fixed assets in
Germany. Evonik invests in Germany in growth projects such as the
new POLYVEST® HT plant - but also in optimizing, maintaining and
expanding existing facilities, as well as in completely new products
and in research and development.

As Ulrich Küsthardt, Head of the Coatings & Additives Business
Unit, explained, “There is great demand for products that help us
use resources more efficiently. Especially in Germany and Europe
the market for functionalized polybutadienes is characterized by a
high level of dynamic growth.” They are used, for example, in
double and triple glazed windows and in adhesives for the
lightweight construction of vehicles. In the automotive industry,
adhesives are increasingly used in addition to traditional welding
processes and as structural adhesives for non-weldable composite
materials.

With its new plant, Evonik is extending its existing portfolio of
polyesters, polymethacrylates, amorphous poly-alpha-olefins and
polybutadienes for the adhesive and sealants industries. The Group
provides solutions for various applications in this market from a
single source.