Ashland to increase vinyl ester and specialty composite materials prices for North America

DUBLIN, Ohio – Ashland Performance Materials, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), is increasing the price of vinyl esters and specialty products including Derakane™, Hetron™, AME™, Arotool™, and Aroguard™ resins by 9 cents per pound effective June 1, or as agreements allow.

“This action is necessary to respond to the changing market and cost increases driven by global supply imbalances in key raw materials,” said Todd Hritz, global product director for vinyl esters, Ashland Performance Materials. “We work diligently to mitigate these issues for our customers by leveraging our extensive global supply network.”

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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provides specialty chemical products, services and solutions for many of the world's most essential industries. Serving customers in more than 100 countries, it operates through five commercial units: Ashland Aqualon Functional Ingredients, Ashland Hercules Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials, Ashland Consumer Markets (Valvoline) and Ashland Distribution. To learn more about Ashland, visit www.ashland.com.

™Trademark of Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries