Cognis Receives PACCAR Preferred Supplier Award Company Recognized for Exceptional Customer Service, High-Quality Products

    CINCINNATI--Feb. 28, 2002--Cognis North America's commitment to providing quality customer service and top-notch products has been recognized globally.
    PACCAR, global manufacturer and marketer of heavy- and medium-duty Kenworth, Peterbilt, DAF, Foden and Leyland trucks, honored Cognis with Preferred Supplier status. Currently, only 96 of PACCAR's more than 800 suppliers have achieved and maintained Preferred Supplier status worldwide.
    To be eligible for the PACCAR Preferred Supplier Award, companies must complete QS9000 and ISO certification, system quality tests implemented by the Automotive Industry Action Group. Award recipients are selected based on an extensive set of criteria established by PACCAR, including technologically advanced products, competitive prices, manufacturing quality and timeliness of delivery.
    Cognis earned the award by making customer satisfaction its number one priority. The company works side-by-side with customers to develop solutions to meet customer needs. The result is a streamlined, cost-effective operation -- beginning to end. The Synlubes Technology division of Cognis attributes its success to a heavy focus on customer satisfaction, while providing higher value solutions throughout the customer's supply chain. Cognis continues to build its foundation of satisfied customers with seamless teamwork throughout all divisions.
    Both PACCAR and Cognis embrace the Six Sigma philosophy -- higher quality results in lower costs, increased productivity and customer satisfaction.
    Six Sigma practices provide continuous quality improvement in manufacturing processes. Preferred Suppliers demonstrate increased incentives and responsibilities by creating mutually beneficial methods that improve productivity and quality between the company and PACCAR. Cognis exemplifies the PACCAR Preferred Supplier by exceeding industry standards for client-service and quality expectations.
    Cognis looks forward to further building its business partnership with PACCAR through deeper involvement in strategic business and engineering projects.

    Cognis is the name under which the chemical activities of the Henkel Group were set up as a separate legal entity on August 1, 1999. On November 30, 2001, Cognis was acquired by the investors the Permira Funds, GS Capital Partners, and the Schroder Ventures Life Sciences Funds. In 2000, Cognis recorded sales of 3.2 billion euros and an operating profit of 220 million euros. Compared to the previous year, this represents a rise of 11.6% in sales and 23% in operating profit. In the first three quarters of 2001, sales came to 2.4 billion euros, and operating profit to 166 million euros.
    Cognis is a worldwide leader in specialty chemicals with almost 9,100 employees in close to 50 countries on all continents. The most important customers are in the detergents and cleaners industry, the cosmetics industry, nutrition & health, and a number of other industrial markets such as synthetic lubricants, coatings and inks, textiles, and plastics, as well as agrosolutions.