Engelhard to Expand Capacity for Clean-Air Technologies in China

ISELIN, N.J.--Nov. 1, 20030, 2003--Engelhard Corporation announced today that it has broken ground for a new plant in The People's Republic of China that will triple the company's capacity to produce emission catalysts for that country's burgeoning automotive industry.

The new manufacturing facility represents a significant step toward cleaner air for a country that contains 19 of the world's 25 most polluted cities, according to the World Bank.

The new plant will replace an existing Engelhard facility that opened in 2000. Current capacity there is not sufficient to meet growing orders. The new facility is scheduled to come on stream by mid-2004 and will triple Engelhard's current production capacity in China. The new plant is also designed for additional expansion in coming years to keep pace with China's growing demand for environmental technology.

"The economic environment in China is very positive, and we are pleased to be in a position to provide technology required to produce environmentally compatible vehicles," said Edmund A. Stanczak, Jr., Engelhard's group vice president and general manager of Environmental Technologies. "We are moving quickly to keep pace with the industry expansion underway."

Production of light-duty vehicles in China is growing in excess of 15% per year and is expected to surpass 2.5 million units this year. Analysts predict this growth rate will continue, making China the world's third largest automotive market by 2010.

"Strong consumer demand is leading most global automakers to build production facilities in China," Mr. Stanczak said. "These international companies, along with Chinese automakers, represent important customers for Engelhard."

While domestic demand continues to fuel the boom in Chinese car manufacturing, the industry may be further stimulated by exports. Several manufacturers have announced plans to begin exporting cars from China by 2005.

In addition to increased auto production, the demand for catalytic converters in China is being driven by increasingly stringent environmental regulations. The Chinese government recently compressed its schedule for improving air quality, citing a desire to be "on par" with world-class regulations by 2008 when Beijing hosts the Olympic Games.

Engelhard pioneered auto-emission catalysis, commercializing the first automotive three-way catalyst to drastically reduce carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen emissions back in 1975. Engelhard remains one of the world's largest developers and manufacturers of auto-emission catalysts, supplying more than a third of the vehicles on the road. The company also continues to extend its clean-air technologies to a wide array of non-automotive markets and applications.

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 Engelhard on the Internet at www.engelhard.com.