Solutia Forms Vydyne Automotive Global Team, Plans to Increase Nylon Product Offering to Auto Industry

TROY, Mich., Jan. 4, 2005 -- Solutia Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: SOLUQ) today announced the formation of the Vydyne Automotive global development team, aimed at increasing its presence in the global automotive segment. Through the implementation of this team, Solutia will offer a bundled family of nylon based product solutions for the automotive market, including resins for injection molded and extruded components, and a portfolio of Technical Nylon Fibers (TNF) for high performance tires, airbags, hoses, and high-end interiors. For over 30 years, Vydyne(R) has been the trade name for Solutia's injection molding nylon resins. Today, Solutia combined all of its nylon products and automotive personnel to form a focused global team, Vydyne Automotive.

"We are experiencing strong global sales of our nylon products and have added individuals in North America, Europe, and Asia to support the growth of our nylon products in automotive applications," said Michael Colella, global commercial director for Nylon Resins. "We have unique core competencies and capabilities that we are leveraging to help our customers design new products and improve their time-to-market."

Vydyne(R) nylon resins are used in a variety of powertrain, chassis, and interior and exterior vehicle applications such as radiator end tanks, air pistons, fuel filler doors, release levers, exterior mirror brackets, oil filler tubes, and power steering reservoirs.

"The Vydyne Automotive marketing effort offers us an excellent opportunity to showcase the breadth of nylon products and services we have for the OEM, Tier 1 and 2, and replacement automotive markets," said John Jurecko, automotive marketing for nylon resins. "In addition, we are placing an increased emphasis on product development efforts and are planning a commercial launch of several new products in early 2005."

Technical Nylon Fibers are incorporated into critical applications such as airbags and high performance tires. TNF also have a presence in multiple specialty applications that include air brake diaphragm fabrics, military vehicle seating, and durable belts and hoses where the properties of nylon 6,6 are demanded.

"Nylon 6,6 fibers for the technical automotive market have been an integral part of our business for many years with a strong emphasis on performance, quality and durability," said Michael Knight, sales manager for Solutia's Technical Nylon Fibers Division. "We see great potential value for our Technical Nylon Fibers business by combining our product offerings and resources under Vydyne Automotive."

For further information regarding Vydyne Automotive, please logon to http://www.vydyneautomotive.com/ , or contact John Jurecko at 1-800-865-5508.

Corporate Profile

Solutia ( http://www.solutia.com/ ) uses world-class skills in applied chemistry to create value-added solutions for customers, whose products improve the lives of consumers every day. Solutia is a world leader in performance films for laminated safety glass and after-market applications; process development and scale-up services for pharmaceutical fine chemicals; specialties such as water treatment chemicals, heat transfer fluids and aviation hydraulic fluid and an integrated family of nylon products including high-performance polymers and fibers like Vydyne(R) Nylon 6,6 and Ascend(TM) Nylon 6,6 Fiber Polymer.

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