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Dow-UT Being Sold to British Automotive

28 October 1998

Dow-UT Being Sold to British Automotive, Aerospace Firm Transaction Expected to Close Near Year End

    WALLINGFORD, Conn., Oct. 28 -- The Dow Chemical Company and
United Technologies Corporation today announced an agreement to sell the
business and assets of their 50-50 joint venture, Dow-United Technologies
Composite Products, Inc.  Dow-UT had 1997 revenues of $80.2 million.
    GKN Westland Aerospace, Inc., a unit of GKN plc, of the United Kingdom,
has agreed to purchase the Wallingford-based company.  The transaction,
subject to regulatory and government approval, is expected to close near year
end.
    GKN, headquartered in London, is a global industrial company with sales in
excess of #3 billion (approximately $5.13 billion).  The company designs,
develops and manufactures automotive and off-highway vehicle products as well
as aerospace and defense products and provides a range of industrial services.
GKN operates in more than 40 countries around the world, employing some 35,000
people in its subsidiaries and an additional 12,300 in joint ventures.
    The unit acquiring Dow-UT, GKN Westland Aerospace, is an engineering led,
first tier supplier of flight-critical structures, systems and equipment to
the global aerospace industry.
    Dow-United Technologies Composite Products, formed in 1989, is a world
leader in polymer-based composite part manufacturing.  The joint venture of
The Dow Chemical Company and United Technologies Corp.
manufactures composite components for its aerospace customers using pre-preg
molding or Advanced Resin Transfer Molding (AdvRTM(TM)) for complex aircraft
structures and engines.  The company occupies more than a half million square
feet of space at manufacturing plants in Tallassee and Montgomery, Alabama,
and Wallingford, Connecticut, employing approximately 750 people.
    Dow-UT can be found on the Internet at http://www.dowut.com.  GKN can be found on
the Internet at http://www.gknplc.com.