Craycraft Named Senior VP of Valvoline Retail Business

Craycraft Named Senior VP of Valvoline Retail BusinessCOVINGTON, Ky., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Robert M. Craycraft has been named senior vice president and general manager of Valvoline's Retail/DIY (do-it-yourself) business, says Sam Mitchell, president of Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040113/ASHLANDLOGO )

In his new position, Craycraft is responsible for sales and marketing of all Valvoline brands and products to consumers in North America primarily through mass merchandisers, auto parts retailers and warehouse distributors (WD's).

He will continue to have executive responsibility for Valvoline's innovation team and lead Valvoline's adoption of Ashland's new information technology system called, "GlobalOne."

Craycraft joined Ashland in 1992. During his career he has held various sales and leadership positions, including general manager of Valvoline's Eagle One business and vice president and general manager of the North American Distributor Group. Most recently, he was vice president of business transformation. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Vanderbilt University.

He is based at Valvoline's world headquarters in Lexington, Ky., and reports to Mitchell.

Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc., has been serving American motorists longer than any other motor oil company and is a leading innovator and supplier of quality, high-performing automotive and industrial products in more than 100 countries. Best known for its lubricants, Valvoline also markets Eagle One^® appearance products, Zerex^® antifreeze, SynPower^® performance products, Pyroil^® automotive chemicals and MaxLife^® products created for higher-mileage engines. Valvoline also has a stake in the growing quick-lube market with its Valvoline Instant Oil Change unit. Find more information at http://www.valvoline.com.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a Fortune 500 chemical and transportation construction company providing services and customer solutions throughout the world. Find more information at http://www.ashland.com.

^® Registered trademark, Ashland

SOURCE  Ashland Inc.
    -0-                             08/09/2005
    /CONTACT:  Media, Jim Vitak of Ashland Inc., +1-614-790-3715, or
jevitak@ashland.com /
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             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
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    /Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/065263.html/
    /Web site:  http://www.ashland.com
                http://www.valvoline.com /
    (ASH)
CO:  Ashland Inc.; Valvoline
ST:  Kentucky, Ohio, Georgia
IN:  OIL AUT TRN
SU:  PER
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8835 08/09/2005 10:06 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com