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Gencorp Unveils New Name for Spin-Off Company

7 July 1999

Gencorp Unveils New Name for Spin-Off Company OMNOVA LOGO - GENCORP GenCorp unveiled the name and logo for the new company it plans to spin-off in early October 1999. OMNOVA Solutions Inc. conveys an "all new" identity and direction for the spin-off company. The distinctive logo depicts speed and dimension, expemplifying a responsive, "total solutions" approach to meeting customer needs. (PRNewsFoto)[KC] FAIRLAWN, OH USA 07/06/1999    

               OMNOVA Solutions Inc. reflects all new beginning

    FAIRLAWN, Ohio, July 6 -- GenCorp unveiled today
OMNOVA Solutions Inc. as the name for the new company it expects to spin off
in early October 1999.  The new company will operate two of GenCorp's
businesses, Decorative & Building Products and Performance Chemicals, as an
independent publicly traded company when the spin-off is complete.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990706/CLTU009 )
    "OMNOVA Solutions conveys an 'all new' identity and direction for the
spin-off of our Decorative & Building Products and Performance Chemicals
businesses into one strong and focused company," said GenCorp Chairman and CEO
John Yasinsky, who will head the new company as Chairman and CEO at the time
of the spin-off.  "We've created this distinctive identity to demonstrate how
significantly these businesses have been transformed over the past several
years, and to reflect the vitality and enhanced potential they have operating
as an independent company to generate even greater value for our customers and
shareholders in the future," he said.
    OMNOVA Solutions was derived in part from the Latin words "Omni" and
"Nova," meaning "all new."
    "Omni," or all, represents the full spectrum of resources and technologies
offered by Performance Chemicals and Decorative & Building Products.  Recent
acquisitions over the past few years, coupled with aggressive organic
development, are enabling these businesses to provide an "all new" breadth and
depth of products and services to meet customer needs.  "Omni encompasses the
comprehensive and differentiated core competencies we provide in technology,
design and processing, and our expansive line of value-adding product
offerings," Yasinsky said.
    "Nova" means new or innovative.  It reflects the company's commitment to
developing new and unique products that meet the needs of its customers by
providing improved functional performance and decorative content, more
efficient manufacturing processes and lower production costs.  "Nova also
conveys our desire and capability to respond innovatively and rapidly to our
customers and our markets, and to remain flexible and adaptive to change,"
Yasinsky said.
    "Solutions" plays a key role in establishing the company's new identity,
helping to shape an evolving vision focused on becoming the number one
preferred supplier with all customers.  "Establishing long-term relationships
that allow us to understand our customers' needs better than our competitors
in order to leverage our superior core competencies and provide highly
tailored start-to-finish solutions is a driving force central to everything we
do," Yasinsky explained.  "This attention to strong customer relationships
that result in better, faster and more innovative solutions further translates
into an 'all new' focus on creating shareholder value," he added.
    "When you put it all together, the name for our new company -- OMNOVA
Solutions -- says it all."
    The company also unveiled a distinctive logo that exemplifies the
commitment to innovation and marks an "all new" beginning.  The logo's three-
dimensional look reflects an all-encompassing, "total solutions" approach to
meeting customer needs.  The shape of the logo also conveys movement, or speed
in responding to emerging market trends and specific customer requirements.
    Upon completion of the spin-off, OMNOVA Solutions will be a company with
approximately $766 million in sales and 2,600 employees worldwide.  It will
remain headquartered in Akron, where it has long-standing ties and a strong
commitment to the community.
    The company's Decorative and Building Products business provides
decorative and high performance products to customers across a broad array of
commercial and industrial markets that span hospitality, health care, retail,
construction, ready to assemble furniture, indoor and outdoor furniture,
marine and transportation seating, office supply and graphic arts.  The
business is a worldwide leader in commercial wallcoverings, number one in
North America for vinyl woodgrain laminates, and a leading supplier of coated
fabrics, paper laminates, heat-transfer prints, industrial films and roofing
membrane systems.
    The Performance Chemicals business is a leading producer of high quality
engineered polymers and specialty chemicals used in coatings, binders,
adhesives and process additives for paper, carpet, textile and various
specialty industries.  The business holds a strong and growing number two
market position in North America for styrene butadiene latex, and is
experiencing significant growth and diversification into new related markets
that include textiles, graphic arts, construction, nonwovens and acrylics.