Albemarle Launches New Curing Agent for Spray Coating Systems

BATON ROUGE, La., April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Specialty chemicals maker Albemarle Corporation has developed a new polymer chain extender to help control the cure rates of polyurea and hybrid spray coating systems used in truck bed liners, construction coatings and in other systems used in adhesives, sealants and elastomeric materials.

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ETHACURE(R) 420 chain extender is a new aromatic-diamine curing agent designed to provide applicators with excellent cure-rate adjustment. The new product expands and complements Albemarle's existing portfolio of value-adding polymer additives, such as the market-leading aromatic diamines, ETHACURE 100 and ETHACURE 100 LC curatives.

"Albemarle's new ETHACURE 420 chain extender meets a growing demand for use in polyurea spray coating applications," said Scott Sutton, vice president of Albemarle's stabilizers and curatives division. "Using this product in conjunction with our industry-recognized ETHACURE 100 curative or with any aromatic curing agent provides excellent cure time flexibility for the various end uses of polyurea."

Key benefits of ETHACURE 420 for formulators and applicators include: -- Improved "pot life" (working life) of formulations, for applications requiring longer set times; -- Easier, more consistent application of both thicker spray coatings and soft elastomers used in caulks and sealants; -- Higher flow rates of spray formulations, leading to improved coating adherence and rough-surface penetration, where thicker coatings might tend to bridge; -- Smoother and more attractive finished coatings, without undesirable "orange peel" effect; and -- Excellent tensile strength, improving formulations for severe-service applications such as containment barriers, floors, parking garages and bridges.

ETHACURE 420 curative is manufactured in the United States of America at Albemarle's Tyrone, Pa., facility, and is available today for sampling and in commercial quantities. Albemarle's ETHACURE curatives business is part of the company's Polymer Additives business segment.

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading global developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics; petroleum and petrochemical processing; transportation and industrial products; pharmaceuticals; agricultural products; and construction and packaging materials. The Company operates in three business segments-Polymer Additives, Catalysts and Fine Chemicals, and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Learn more about Albemarle at http://www.albemarle.com/.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.