Ashland to highlight composites and adhesives innovation at JEC Europe 2013

Barcelona, SPAIN - Saving time and money for wind-blade makers and car manufacturers. Investing in new technology for structural adhesives. Expanding production to meet the growing needs of customers. This is just a glimpse at how Ashland Performance Materials, a global leader in composites and adhesives and a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), is delivering innovation to customers throughout Europe. These and other examples will be on display at the Ashland booth during the JEC Europe 2013 composites show in Paris from 12-14 March.

Reducing costs for wind-blade makers with Derakane^TM
Ashland offers a full package of resins, adhesives and gelcoats for windmill blade construction. Our innovative Derakane™ 601 epoxy vinyl ester resin saves time and money by shortening molding times compared to expoxy resins, the material of choice for many wind blades today. Based on available data and case histories, a wind blade manufactured with Derakane 601 epoxy vinyl ester resin can perform on par with epoxy blades, with the advantage that Derakane is not only more cost efficient, but also cures much faster. That saves time and money for our customers.

Ashland will share this and other success stories when it presents "Wind energy composites: Development and use of resins, gelcoats and adhesives" at JEC Europe on Wednesday, 13 March, at 13.00 CET. In addition, Ashland will present "Ashland's Maxguard™ - Third generation low emission gelcoat" on Tuesday, March 12, at 13.30 CET. This presentation will focus on Maxguard's decade of success in marine, transportation, sanitary and wind applications. It also will serve as an introduction to the third generation of low emission Maxguard gelcoats and their excellent UV resistance, low water absorption and mechanical properties. Both presentations will be held in hall 1, booth number J34.

Investing in expanded production and new technology
Underlining its long-term commitment to the European structural adhesives market, Ashland Performance Materials plans to open a new production facility for structural adhesives at its Kidderminster site in the UK in spring 2013. Ashland also recently opened a new technical centre at the site. Both production facility and technical center will ensure that Ashland's structural adhesives customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and India will receive the highest levels of service and technical expertise.

Structural adhesives are a key element in bonding carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), a preferred material that helps car manufacturers reduce vehicle weight and fuel consumption. Using lightweight composite parts comes with its own challenges - CFRPs must be bonded with a number of different materials, including other composites and metals. This calls for a very specific range of structural adhesives - all of which can be found in Ashland's portfolio.

"Our recent investment in Kidderminster reinforces Ashland's commitment to leading innovation in the composites and adhesives industry," said Stefan Osterwind, commercial vice president, Ashland Performance Materials EMEA and India. "By shortening lead times and delivering superior service, we create additional value to our manufacturing customers in EMEA and India."

The new manufacturing and technical center in Kidderminster will allow Ashland to focus on innovation by introducing new platforms and customizing new technologies for specific market needs in EMEA and India. Production is scheduled to begin in spring 2013.

Sharing Ashland's technical expertise in structural adhesive technologies
Some of Ashland's innovative products in the structural adhesives sector will be presented at this year's Innovative Composites Summit (ICS), held in conjunction with the JEC Europe trade show, which takes place in Paris from 12 - 14 March. The technical paper "'Bonding solutions for lightweight structures" will be presented Wednesday, March l3 during the Automotive Conference of ICS. The paper will focus on different aspects of market requirements in composite and hybrid bonding of parts for lightweight automotive and truck assemblies, and how engineered structural adhesive technologies are addressing these needs.    

To find out more about Ashland's structural adhesives products, please visit us at JEC Europe in hall 1, booth C45.

Ashland Performance Materials is the global leader in unsaturated polyester resins and vinyl ester resins. In addition, it provides customers with leading technologies in gelcoats, pressure-sensitive and structural adhesives, coatings and elastomers.

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Media Relations
Jennifer Knoblach
+31 (0)10 497 5529
jknoblach@ashland.com