Advanced Auto-Catalyst Manufacturing Technology Unveiled

    NIENBURG, Germany--May 21, 2002--German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder was among the guests at a special event here today to celebrate completion of a multi-million-dollar initiative to develop and install unique, new manufacturing technology for the production of automotive-emission catalysts and environmental technologies for other markets and applications.
    Engelhard's new technologies enable customers to more cost-effectively meet ever-tightening environmental regulations around the world. Several of these technologies center on the more effective and efficient use of platinum group metals.
    "Enabling more cost-effective compliance with environmental regulations is just one example of how Engelhard uses its ingenuity in applying surface and materials science to deliver real value to customers," said Edmund A. Stanczak, Jr., Engelhard's group vice president and general manager for Environmental Technologies. "In addition to continuing to develop new and better technologies for automakers, we're also aggressively expanding our portfolio of served markets and applications."
    Engelhard's Nienburg plant was the center of the festivities where customers, automotive industry executives, government officials, and employees gathered to learn about the advanced manufacturing technology.

    New technologies

    During the last several years, Engelhard has developed new approaches to cost-effective regulatory compliance that required new and unique manufacturing technology to produce. The multi-million-dollar investment over those years was focused on both new technologies and the new manufacturing processes to produce them.
    Over the same time frame, Engelhard also expanded its capacity to produce environmental technologies in Germany, the United States, India and South Africa, while also starting up new plants in China, Thailand and Brazil.

    Market growth

    Engelhard undertook the upgrade and expansion of its environmental catalyst facilities in anticipation of growing worldwide demand. New and more stringent regulations are driving the use of more and more-advanced catalysts on gasoline- and diesel-powered cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles in Europe, North America and parts of Asia.
    Regulations also are driving the use of catalyst technology for the first time in regional markets such as India, China, Thailand and Brazil.
    At the same time, Engelhard is assisting European automakers as they develop new engine technology, such as diesel high-pressure injection and gasoline direct injection that will require new catalyst technology to meet tighter environmental regulation.
    Engelhard Corporation is a surface and materials science company that develops technologies to improve customers' products and processes. A Fortune 500 company, Engelhard is a world-leading provider of technologies for environmental, process, appearance and performance applications. For more information, visit www.engelhard.com.