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KoSa/Sabanci Joint Venture Renamed SAKoSa

1 February 1999

KoSa/Sabanci Joint Venture Renamed SAKoSa, Expected to Begin Production in September

    CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 29 -- KoSa, one of the world's leading
polyester producers, and the tire reinforcement materials group of Sabanci
Holding have renamed their joint venture to manufacture polyester tire cord
yarn and fabric for the European market as SAKoSa.
    The new name reflects the change in joint venture ownership from
Hoechst/Sabanci to KoSa/Sabanci.
    KoSa purchased Hoechst's interest in the joint venture, formerly known as
HoecSa, as part of its acquisition of the German concern's global polyester
business.  KoSa is owned by a consortium between Koch Industries Inc. of
Wichita, Kansas, and IMASAB, S.A. de C.V., a company owned by Isaac Saba of
Mexico City.
    The SAKoSa joint venture also announced today that it expects to begin
commercial production at its new manufacturing facility in Izmit, Turkey, in
September 1999.
    SAKoSa was established in May 1997 as a response to the rapidly growing
global demand for high-modulus, low-shrinkage (HMLS) tire cord yarn and
fabric.  The joint venture's new facility will manufacture 14,000 tons of
polyester tire cord annually using KoSa's leading-edge HMLS technology and
then will convert that yarn through Sabanci technology into state-of-the-art
dipped fabric.
    George Gregory, KoSa's chief operating officer, will serve as chairman of
SAKoSa's six-person board of directors, with board representation divided
evenly between KoSa and Sabanci.  SAKoSa headquarters are in Istanbul.
    KoSa currently produces advanced HMLS fibers at facilities at Salisbury,
N.C., U.S.A.; Queretaro, Mexico; and Bobingen, Germany, and is exploring
opportunities for additional global expansion.  Its fibers have become the
industry standard for tire reinforcement through a combination of strength and
high dimensional stability.
    KoSa manufactures commodity and specialty polyester products as part of
five global businesses: Intermediates and Polymer, Packaging Resins, Technical
Filament, Textile Fibers and Tire Cord.  With global headquarters in Houston,
Texas, the company employs more than 10,000 people worldwide.
    Sabanci Holding is one of the largest business conglomerates in Turkey,
with such diverse businesses as tires, banking, insurance, fibers, textiles
and automotives.  Sabanci Holding is a partner in 20 joint ventures worldwide
with such companies as Toyota, Bridgestone, DuPont, Bekaert, CBR,
International Paper and Philip Morris.  Kordsa, the tire reinforcement
materials group of Sabanci Holding, is one of the most recognized and
respected tire cord fabric producers in the world.