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Acordis Industrial Fibers To Raise Prices December 1, 1999

26 October 1999

Acordis Industrial Fibers To Raise Prices December 1, 1999 for Industrial Polyester and Nylon Fiber Products

    SCOTTSBORO, Ala.--Oct. 25, 1999--Acordis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Akzo Nobel nv., is raising the prices of its industrial polyester and nylon type 6,6 fibers in North America to offset the increased cost of raw materials and associated production costs.
    Acordis Industrial Fibers has announced that, effective December 1, 1999 polyester and nylon fibers will rise by $0.10/lb.
    According to C. Winston Carroll, Director Marketing & Sales, Acordis North America, "this increase is essential, following a period of substantial price decline. Also, the increase is important to continue serving our customers with the products and services they demand, for mechanical rubber goods and tire reinforcement applications."
    This is reported to be the first Acordis price increase in more than two years for fibers for the rubber/tire industry, where prices have generally remained flat or depressed.
    Acordis Industrial Fibers is one of the world's leading producers of industrial yarns, manufacturing high-tenacity viscose, polyester and polyamide for the automotive industry, for technical fabrics and numerous technical applications, as well as for tire reinforcement, including converting.
    Acordis Industrial Fibers is the largest business unit of Acordis, employing some 4,500 people worldwide. Headquartered in Arnhem (the Netherlands), it is a global producer, with fully owned production facilities in the Netherlands, Germany, United States and Brazil.
    The Acordis group has sales of more than NLG 5 billion (USD 2.5 billion), employs 18,000 people worldwide and has production facilities in Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, Italy, Spain and Poland.

    Note: Akzo Nobel symbol is AKZOY on NASDAQ