Rijneveldshoek Named Senior Vice President, Thermoset Resins, Ashland Specialty Chemical

COVINGTON, Ky., June 2, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Peter H. Rijneveldshoek has been named senior vice president for Ashland Specialty Chemical's Thermoset Resins businesses, effective August 1. The announcement was made by Gary A. Cappeline, president and chief operating officer of the Chemical Sector of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), to whom Rijneveldshoek will now report.

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In his new role, Rijneveldshoek will be responsible for leveraging growth opportunities across Thermoset Resins' core businesses including Casting Solutions, Composite Polymers and Specialty Polymers and Adhesives. He also will oversee the Global Technology and Marketing and Business Development groups. He will continue to be responsible for Ashland's shared services center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Rijneveldshoek will be relocating to Dublin, Ohio, from Rotterdam.

"Peter has a 30-year record of success within our Water Technologies (Drew) businesses," said Cappeline. "He has successfully led Drew Industrial's European, Asian and African operations, contributing to nine consecutive years of operating income growth. Peter also has played a pivotal role in building the foundation for integration of our Chemical Sector operations in Europe as leader of our European Business Council and leader of the shared services center that provides finance, information technology, human resources, communications, legal and environmental, health and safety support to all Chemical Sector divisions in Europe.

Cappeline singled out Rijneveldshoek's expertise within global specialty chemicals markets. "Peter is a strong leader, skilled in developing people, who has demonstrated an ability to create a sustainable value proposition for our water specialty chemicals business. In sharing his perspectives and experiences on how to thrive within global specialty markets, I anticipate that Peter will prove a tremendous asset to our Thermoset businesses as we accelerate our global expansion efforts."

Rijneveldshoek's career at Ashland began in 1975 in sales for Ashland Specialty Chemical's Drew Industrial business in Rotterdam. Since then, he has served as general manager for Drew Industrial's Dutch operations and marketing manager for Drew Industrial Europe. In 1990, Rijneveldshoek was promoted to Drew Industrial vice president for Europe and the Middle East; and in 2002, he was assigned additional responsibilities as director of Ashland's European Shared Business Services. In 2004, his area of responsibility was again expanded to include the Asia Pacific and African regions for Drew Industrial.

A native of The Netherlands, Rijneveldshoek earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Delft.

Ashland Specialty Chemical, a division of Ashland Inc., is a leading, worldwide supplier of specialty chemicals serving industries including adhesives, automotive, composites, metal casting, merchant marine, paint, paper, plastics, watercraft and water treatment. Visit www.ashspec.com to learn more about these operations.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a Fortune 500 transportation construction, chemicals and petroleum company providing products, services and customer solutions throughout the world. To learn more about Ashland, visit www.ashland.com.

SOURCE Ashland Inc.

Jim Vitak of Ashland Inc., +1-614-790-3715, or jevitak@ashland.com

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