Cyclics and Ahlstrom to Jointly Develop Wind Power and Marine Composites

DUSSELDORF, Germany--Oct. 2, 20045, 2004--

New alliance brings together expertise in plastics and glass fibres for composites that will be safer to produce, recyclable, and improve manufacturing efficiencies

Cyclics Corporation and Ahlstrom Glassfibre Oy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ahlstrom Corporation, have entered into a Research and Development Agreement in wind turbine and marine applications. The agreement will use CBT(R) resin in combination with Ahlstrom's glassfibre reinforcements and will utilize various moulding processes.

The initial evaluation of Cyclics resins in combination with Ahlstrom reinforcements is promising and this has led to intensified testing efforts. The low processing viscosity of CBT resins allows for the fast wet out and high fiber volumes required for demanding applications.

Ahlstrom anticipates being able to commercially launch a CBT resin with glassfibre reinforcement in 2005, following completion of the testing period.

Both parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the agreement.

Cyclics Corporation, headquartered in Schenectady, New York, U.S.A. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Cyclics Europe GmbH based in Schwarzheide, Germany, manufacture innovative plastics that offer breakthroughs in processing, making new products possible and changing the economics of existing ones. The water-like processing viscosities of Cyclics' engineering thermoplastic products offer improvements in performance and productivity for structural composites, compounding, casting, nanocomposites, coatings and rotational moulding. Cyclics has alliances with Dow Automotive, BASF, Alcan Composites, P-Group, Ahlstrom and Davy Process Technology.

Ahlstrom is a leader in high performance fiber-based materials serving niche markets worldwide. Our fiber solutions are used in a large variety of everyday products for the environment, health care, transport, packaging and home & office. The company whose heritage spans more than 150 years, is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employs approximately 6,700 people and serves customers with sales networks and production facilities in more than 20 countries on five continents. Today, annual net sales of Ahlstrom's fiber solutions business are about EUR 1.6 billion. The company website is www.ahlstrom.com.

(R) CBT is a Registered Trademark of Cyclics Corporation.

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